The death toll has climbed to four for the strongest tornado to hit Cuba since 1940. Nearly 200 people suffered injuries.
During its 16-minute rampage through eastern Havana neighborhoods it carried vehicles aloft and slammed them into buildings, crumbled homes and blasted out windows.
The Regla, Guanabacoa, Cerro, San Miguel del Padron, 10 de Octubre districts and parts of East Havana were especially hard hit as the tornado tore through on Sunday night, but high winds downed trees and caused damage in other parts of the capital too.
Although a tornado of such force is extremely rare in Cuba, the government responded to the F4 disaster much the same as it does for much more common hurricanes.
Work brigades were on the scene Monday morning clearing rubble, crushed cars, and fallen trees, and by Tuesday tents selling food at highly subsidized prices began to appear in the most hard-hit neighborhoods.
The original death toll increased by one to four late Monday, and 195 people were reported injured. During a meeting of the Havana Defense Council, Reinol Delfin Garcia, Havana's health director, said that 12 of the injured were in serious condition.
The nearly 200 patients evacuated from the Daughters of Galicia maternity hospital where the Sunday tornado blew out the windows were all in stable conditions in new locations, he said.
During the meeting, the toll on housing also was announced: 1,238 damaged homes, including 123 total losses, 625 that were partially destroyed, and 378 that lost their roofs or parts of them.
More than 1 million homes were left without power after the tornado passed, but that number has been reduced to less than 220,000, according to ACN, the Cuban news agency.
During an appearance on the Mesa Redonda television program, Celso Pazos Alberdi, managing director of Cuba's Institute of Meteorology, said that preliminary analysis showed the tornado reached the F4 category, capable of carrying vehicles aloft and leveling homes.
Wind speeds reached more than 186 mph as the tornado traveled along a 7.1-mile path of destruction.
