Hurricane Irma claims 10 lives in Cuba

In Hurricane Irma's relentless 72-hour march across Cuba's north coast from east to west, the storm left 10 people dead, including two women on a Havana bus who were killed when a fourth-story balcony tumbled on to the vehicle.

Although early forecasts had predicted the hurricane would take a northern curve before reaching the capital, Irma plowed straight into Havana, sending towering waves crashing over the seaside Malecón and causing seven deaths in the capital.

Coastal flooding was reported from Camagüey province to Matanzas in the west and along the Malecón. Cuba’s weather service said strong swells were still lashing the northwestern Cuban coastline Monday, but were expected to diminish through the day.

Irma made landfall in Cuba at 9 p.m. Friday and didn’t leave Cuban territory until Sunday afternoon. It was the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in Cuba since 1932 when a killer storm claimed more than 2,200 lives in Santa Cruz del Sur.

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