Hurricane Paloma batters Cuba

HAVANA, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Hurricane Paloma was downgraded to a tropical storm Sunday as it passed over Cuba, leaving a trail of destruction.

Heavy rains and strong winds from Hurricane Paloma -- which at one point reached Category Four status, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said -- battered the southern coast of Cuba, damaging homes and uprooting trees.

Cuban officials said more than a million people were evacuated ahead of the storm.

Major storms that raked Cuba earlier this year caused billions of dollars in damages.