Paloma lashes Cuba/Cayman Islands

Residents of Cuba and the Cayman Islands are continuing to clean-up after the damage caused by hurricane Paloma on the weekend.



The weather system has petered out after being downgraded to a tropical depression yesterday.



In Cuba, the storm flooded coastal areas, downed power lines and forced the evacuation of 500,000 people.



The authorities say phone services and electricity supplies were interrupted after the storm toppled a major power tower on the southern coast.

Before lashing Cuba, Paloma left devastation in its wake on the Cayman Islands with piles of debris, flattened trees, and localised flooding.



The smaller islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman were hardest hit.

The British chief minister, Kurt Tibbetts, said his government is working to restore utilities and provide humanitarian support to the residents of the islands.