Rain, winds hit Havana as Paula moves ashore

HAVANA (Reuters) - A weakening Tropical Storm Paula moved ashore in Cuba on Thursday and neared the Cuban capital, where thunderstorms raked the city with winds and driving rain.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the eye of the small storm was now 40 miles southwest of Havana, its top winds had dropped to 60 miles per hour and would continue falling.

"Paula is expected to become a tropical depression on Friday," it said.

As the storm neared, skies grew dark in Havana, thunder rattled across the skies and wind and rain swept through the streets. Some streets of the scenic but crumbling city were partially flooded and some trees were blown down, residents reported.

Radar indicated the worst of Paula remained offshore over the Straits of Florida and the storm conditions would not last too long, Cuban weather forecaster Jose Rubiera said on national television.

Paula was moving east at 9 mph, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

MINIMUM EVACUATIONS

Earlier, wind gusts up to 68 mph had been measured at the northwestern coast where Paula came ashore, the center said.

Cuba reported its western tip had received 4.5 inches of rain in 24 hours.

Cuban state media said about 120 people were evacuated as a precaution from low-lying areas of westernmost province Pinar del Rio, which along with other parts of Cuba was badly hit by destructive hurricanes in 2008.

There were no immediate reports of serious flooding.

Pinar del Rio is where the premium tobacco for Cuba's world-famous cigars is grown, but local officials said tobacco fields had been protected and leaves from the previous harvest safely stored.

Paula, the 16th named storm and ninth hurricane of the busy 2010 Atlantic season, had not affected offshore oil-producing regions in the Gulf of Mexico.

(Additional reporting by Esteban Israel and Nelson Acosta; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Peter Cooney)