More than 770,000 Cubans evacuated to shelters or higher ground ahead of the Category 3 hurricane, which earlier raked the Bahamas and worsened floods in Haiti that have already killed at least 319 people.
'We are preparing for a strong hit,' Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage told state television.
The hurricane also slowed efforts to bring oil and gas production back online in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Gustav.
It made landfall in eastern Cuba late Sunday night, said meteorologist Todd Kimberlain at the US National Hurricane Center, and was forecast to hit Havana, the capital of 2 million people, before it moves into the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday morning.
At 2am EDT (1pm Singapore time), Ike was a Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph). It was centered about 85 miles (135 kms) east of Camaguey, moving westward at 14 mph (23 kph). The hurricane center said Ike is likely to weaken as it moves over Cuba during the next day or so.
State television broadcast images of the storm surge washing over coastal homes in the easternmost city of Baracoa, and reported that dozens of dwellings were damaged beyond repair. Former President Fidel Castro released a written statement calling on Cubans to heed security measures to ensure no one dies.
Foreign tourists were pulled out from vulnerable beach resorts, workers rushed to protect coffee plants and other crops, and plans were under way to distribute food and cooking oil to disaster areas.
'There's no fear here, but one has to be prepared. It could hit us pretty hard,' said Ramon Olivera, gassing up his motorcycle in Camaguey, where municipal workers boarded up banks and restaurants before heavy rain started falling. -- AP