GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands -- Hours after battering the Cayman Islands, Hurricane Paloma, now a Category 3, made landfall in southern Cuba Saturday evening and slowed once on land.

The storm hit as a Category 4 in Santa Cruz del Sur, Cuba. A hurricane warning is in effect for the Cuban provinces of Ciego de Avila, Camaguey, Las Tunas, Granma and Holguin.

''Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,'' according to a National Hurricane Center advisory.

At 10 p.m., Paloma's center was about 35 miles south-southeast of Camaguey and about 75 miles north of Cabo Cruz. The hurricane, moving at 7 mph, is projected to move northeast through Sunday, decreasing in speed as it moves across Cuba.

By Sunday morning, forecasters project the center of Paloma to approach the Atlantic coast of east-central Cuba, nearing the central Bahamas by late Sunday or Monday.

Bands of rain began drenching Cuba's south-central coast about 1 p.m., forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said. Residents were told to expect ''potentially catastrophic'' storm surges of up to 25 feet in the coming hours.

The storm -- which is not expected to harm South Florida -- unleashed a fury of rain and packed heavy winds on the Cayman Islands overnight.

Moses Kirkconnell, the nation's minister for the Sister Islands, described the 140-mph winds ''like a brick slamming against the wall.'' He described heavy damage on the islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, but said that no casualties had been reported.

A 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. curfew was in place for Cayman Brac, which suffered from power outages along with Little Cayman.

''There are buildings here that have been turned to rubble, and there are buildings I just don't recognize,'' Cayman Brac Red Cross volunteer John Bogle said. ``Everyone is still in shelters, but tonight they are are filled to capacity.''

Paloma could be the fourth major storm to pound Cuba this season. The storm is expected to dump five to ten inches of rain along the south coast of Cuba.

As residents there prepared, those on the Cayman Islands began surveying the damage.

Little Cayman and Cayman Brac were hardest hit, said Kirkconnell, the minister of Sister Islands. The storm dumped as much of 10 inches of rain on some parts of the islands.

''We have reports of personal loss to homes and roofs,'' Kirkconnell said.

On Cayman Brac, at least two hurricane shelters lost their roofs, officials there said. The storm surge came far inland, flooding the air strip under two feet of water. In many areas of the island, the water was knee deep. A majority of the roads could not be driven on.

An assessment team was reviewing the damage, as Red Cross workers arrived in helicopters with supplies. The British Royal Navy warship Waveruler was also headed for Little Cayman and Cayman Brac to offer emergency assistance.

Greg Hoeksema, medical director for the Cayman hospitals, said the island had taken ``a serious battering.''

Bob Soto, a long-time resident, took shelter on the Bluff, the highest point in Cayman Brac. He said the experience was worse than Hurricane Ivan, the strongest storm of the 2004 hurricane season.

''This is the worst hurricane I have ever seen,'' Soto said. ``There is not one leaf left on the trees on The Bluff. All the leaves are gone. You can feel the reduction in oxygen in the air, and that is something I have never felt before.''

Little Cayman was also devastated, workers there said. More than a dozen homes lost their roofs and one apartment complex caved in completely. While scores of people had to be rescued, nobody died, officials said.

Grand Cayman received an ''all clear'' at 7 a.m. on Saturday, officials there said.

There was little damage or flooding on the island. But officials reported storm surges and said that there was debris in the streets.

Despite widespread power outages, power was restored to nearly 90 percent of residents by 2 p.m. Grocery stores and gas stations had opened, and traffic was moving freely.

Cindy Scotland, a top official with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, said there was no damage to central George Town, the nation's capital and a major financial center for the Caribbean.

Paloma should be very weak after its pass through Cuba, sending tropical storm conditions to the Bahamas early next week. The storm is not expected to affect South Florida's weather, except for some possible cloudiness and gusty breezes on Monday and Tuesday.

Paloma is the 16th named storm and eighth hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.

Miami Herald staff writer Alfonso Chardy contributed to this report.

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