HAVANA, Aug 30: Deadly hurricane Gustav bore down on Cuba headed to the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, threatening to intensify into a category-four storm after leaving a trail of death and destruction across the Caribbean.

Even before strengthening to a “dangerous” category three storm early Saturday, Gustav killed up to 85 people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica and causing major damage in the Cayman islands, according to officials.

Evacuations were under way in coastal areas from northwest Cuba to Louisiana in the United States, where Gustav was predicted to make landfall on Monday or early Tuesday, three years after superstorm Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans.

Civil defence authorities in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province and most of northern Cuba said they were moving 190,000 people to safety, mainly from coastal towns vulnerable to flooding before Gustav hits shore.

The eye of the hurricane was expected to pass over the Isla de la Juventud, or Isle of Youth, to the south of the mainland early afternoon Saturday, before directly striking Pinar del Rio and battering the capital Havana to the east.

Early on Saturday, a Caymans official reported heavy damage from Gustav on Cayman Brac, the large eastern island of the Caymans group, with power and water supplies down.

“We’re hoping that it’s going to settle down enough that we can do some damage assessment,” said Ernie Scott, District Commissioner of the Sister Islands.—AFP