Hurricane Irma crashed into Cuba late on Friday killing at least 10 people, authorities say, bringing the death toll from the ferocious storm to 39 in the Caribbean.
At least 10 people were killed in Cuba by Hurricane Irma, most of them crushed by collapsing buildings, authorities said on Monday, bringing the death toll from the ferocious storm to 39 in the Caribbean.
Seven of the dead were in the province of Havana, while fatalities also were reported in Matanzas, home to the tourist resort of Varadero, and the regions of Ciego de Avila and Camaguey farther east, according to a statement from civil defence authorities.
The storm crashed into Cuba late on Friday as the first Category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds of than 157 miles per hour (253 km per hour), to make landfall on the island since 1932, state media reported.
The eye of the hurricane scoured the islands on Cuba’s northern coast. Even its outer reaches were powerful enough to send waves of up to 36 feet (12 meters) chasing into Havana’s historic seafront boulevard on Sunday.
“Given the immensity of its size, practically no region escaped its impact,” Cuban President Raul Castro said in a statement published in state-run media on Monday. He called for Cubans to unite in order to rebuild the country.
“The task we have before us is immense but with a people like ours, we will win the most important battle: the recovery.”