Hurricane Sandy kills 11 in Cuba

PanARMENIAN.Net - Eleven people died as Hurricane Sandy pummeled Cuba on Thursday, Oct 25, state media reported, according to CNN.

Nine deaths occurred in Santiago de Cuba province and two bodies were recovered in Guantanamo state, national media reported, citing civil defense authorities.

Cuban President Raul Castro will travel Friday to Santiago de Cuba, the country's second largest city, to survey the damage.

More than 3,000 buildings were damaged in eastern Cuba, state television reported.

Residents in Santiago spent Thursday assessing the extent of the damage. There was no electricity, and very few people had working phones, Dulce said.

Heavy rain in Cuba brings with it potential health risks. Flooding over the summer in Granma province contaminated wells, leading to a cholera outbreak, the first Cuba had experienced in a century. The same province was hit hard by Sandy.

Bahamians and their guests hunkered down Thursday night as Sandy, a Category 2 hurricane, tore through the islands with 100 mph wind and the potential for up to 12 inches of rain.

The five-day forecast from the National Hurricane Center predicts the center of the storm will shadow the East Coast in the coming days, with Sandy potentially making landfall as a tropical storm in New Jersey the day before Halloween.