Sandy strikes Cuba as "strong" category two hurricane

HAVANA (AFP)- Hurricane Sandy slammed into Cuba early Thursday as a "strong" category two storm after battering Jamaica, where it downed power lines and forced hundreds of people to seek emergency shelter.

The US-based National Hurricane Center said the storm was packing winds of up to 175 kilometers per hour as it made landfall and predicted that it would further strengthen in the coming hours.

The hurricane plowed across Jamaica on Wednesday, reportedly killing one person and forcing hundreds to seek shelter as it downed power lines and dropped heavy rains on the shantytowns around the capital Kingston.

Local paper The Gleaner said the storm had claimed its first victim - a 74-year-old man who was killed when a boulder rolled onto a house.