Ham radio operators in Camaguey and Santa Cruz del Sur reported most communications out as the storm approached, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Two hurricanes hit Cuba in late August and early September.

"Paloma will finish us off," Irene Requejo told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Paloma, a dangerous Category 4 storm when it made landfall, lost both force and forward speed over land, the hurricane center said. At 10 p.m. EST, the maximum sustained winds had dropped to 115 mph from 145 mph with hurricane winds extending 30 miles and tropical storm winds 115 miles from the center.

The center of the storm was 35 miles south-southeast of Camaguey and 70 miles north of Cabo Cruz, moving north at about 7 mph.

The hurricane was expected to pass over Cuba Sunday morning, headed for the Bahamas, where a tropical storm warning was posted.