More than 5,000 people have been evacuated in eastern Cuba as the country is fighting Hurricane Wilma, civil defense authorities said Tuesday.

The hurricane has caused floods and mudslides in the eastern provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago and Granma over the past 48 hours.

Floodgates on some reservoirs were opened as rainfall of up to 209 to 326 mm had caused floods beyond reservoirs' capacity.

A total of 4,195 people from Guantanamo, 833 from Granma and 268 from Santiago have been transferred to shelters elsewhere.

In Santiago, rains have destroyed 225 homes and burst some river banks, and flooded the main Sevilla-Guama highway.

By late Tuesday, the hurricane was already packing winds of 130 km an hour, the US National Hurricane Center said.

"Wilma is a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours and Wilma is expected to become a major hurricane during the next day or two," the center said.

Cuba has issued a hurricane warning for the western end of the island from Matanzas to Pinar del Rio, as well as the Isle of Youth.

Wilma was the 21st named tropical cyclone in this Atlantic season, tying the record for the most storms set in 1933. It was also the 12th hurricane and matched the record for the most hurricanes in a season, set in 1969. The season still has six weeks left.

Source: Xinhua