HAVANA -- Hurricane Ike slammed into Cuba, the second major storm to hit the island in a little over a week, making landfall in the eastern province of Holguin as a major Category Three hurricane, weather officials said.
UN peacekeepers cross a river after floods near Port-au-Prince September 7, 2008. [Agencies]
Packing 120-mile (195-kilometer) per hour winds, Ike is the second powerful storm in just eight days to strike Cuba, following the devastation of Hurricane Gustav.
"In all of Cuba's history, we have never had two hurricanes this close together," lamented Rubeira.
More than 800,000 Cubans were evacuated ahead of the Ike's arrival, including more than 9,000 foreign visitors who were moved out of the tourist mecca of Varadero, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Havana.
An evacuated house is submerged in floodwaters in Baracoa in this frame grab taken from Cuban state television September 7, 2008. [Agencies]
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