GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands -- A ferocious Hurricane Paloma blasted Cuba overnight, unleashing a fury of rain and 140 mph winds on a nation already ravaged by three previous storms.

Because the storm attacked under cover of darkness, the extent of damage wasn't immediately clear. But in parts of the Cayman Islands, slammed by the late-season storm a day earlier, roofs were sheared off and an airstrip was left under two feet of water.

''There is one word to explain it: catastrophe,'' said John Bogle, a Red Cross volunteer in the Caymans. ``I estimate there is 98 percent damage to all the roofs that I can see.''

''Cayman Brac needs all the help it can get,'' he said, referring to one of the nation's three islands.

The storm was not expected to dramatically affect South Florida's weather, save some wind and gray skies. Instead, Paloma will likely lose strength over Cuba before heading toward the Bahamas by late Sunday or Monday.

After making landfall in Cuba sometime around 7 p.m. Saturday as a category 4 monster, Paloma dropped to a Category 3, with winds still nearing 120 mph.

In Cuba, which has already been hit by three major storms this year, the consequence could be dire.

Residents were told to expect ''potentially catastrophic'' storm surges of up to 25 feet and up to 20 inches of rain.

The storm made landfall around 7 p.m., near Santa Cruz del Sur.

In the central-eastern province of Camaguey alone, more than 220,000 people had been moved from low-lying areas to higher ground. Another 170,000 people were evacuated in the eastern province of Las Tunas.

Former President Fidel Castro warned in an essay published in Cuban state media that Paloma would damage roads and new crops planted after hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit in late August and early September, causing an estimated $9.4 billion in damage and destroyed nearly a third of Cuba's crops.

In the city of Camaguey, 79-year-old Rosa Perez was waiting out the storm at a government shelter at the University of Camaguey with her 83-year-old husband and about 900 others.

Perez was a toddler when she watched her mother, older sister and about 40 other relatives swept away in a storm surge during a 1932 hurricane that killed about 3,000 people.

''We're just waiting to see what happens to our home and our beach,'' Perez said nervously.

As Cubans hunkered down, those on the Cayman Islands began assessing the damage.

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 no casualties had been reported.

On Cayman Brac, at least two hurricane shelters lost their roofs, Red Cross officials said. The storm surge came far inland, flooding one air strip under two feet of water.

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

In many areas of the island, the water was knee deep.

Red Cross workers were bringing supplies to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman by helicopter. Additionally, the British Royal Navy warship Waveruler was headed for Little Cayman and Cayman Brac to offer emergency assistance. The Caymans are a British territory.

Resident Bob Soto took shelter on The Bluff, the highest point in Cayman Brac. He said the storm 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.

On Grand Cayman, there was little damage or flooding. 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. Saturday. Cindy Scotland, a top official with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, said there was no damage to central George Town, the nation's capital.

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

Miami Herald staff writers Evan S. Benn, Kirstin Maguire and Alfonso Chardy and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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