On Wednesday morning it was about 260 kilometres southeast of Havana and was packing winds of 99 mph (160 kph) making it a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Five is the strongest.

But "rapid strengthening is forecast, and Rafael could be near major hurricane intensity before it makes landfall in Cuba later today," the National Hurricane Center in the United States said at 7:00 am local time (1200 GMT).

Writing on the social network X Cuba's meteorological institute (Insmet) said it expected Rafael to be "very close to a Category 3" when it slams into the west of the island, between Pinar del Rio and Artemisa provinces.

Nine provinces in west and central Cuba, including the capital Havana, have been placed on cyclone alert.

According to Cuban media, over 70,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, mostly in Guantanamo, in the east, where eight people were killed by Hurricane Oscar last month.

While Guantanamo is not expected to experience hurricane conditions, persistent rain this week has left the ground saturated.

The office of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel reported Tuesday that it was mobilizing the National Defense Council, consisting of military personnel, due to the storm.

"We have activated the National Defense Council to provide the maximum attention to the passage of Hurricane Rafael," Diaz-Canel said in a post on X.

"Measures have been taken in each place to protect our people and material resources. As we have always done since the Revolution, we will overcome this situation."

Hurricane Oscar lashed Cuba last month as it was in the throes of a four-day nationwide blackout caused by the failure of the island's biggest power plant and a shortage of fuel.

In Havana, state television showed workers clearing drains, collecting garbage and cutting back trees to prepare for Rafael.

In the village of Alquizar, about 31 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Havana, Liset Herrera, 57, said she had been unable to follow the news about Rafael "because there is no electricity".

Further south, in the coastal village of Ganimar, Marisol Valle, a 63-year-old farmer, came home briefly to collect some belongings. "There didn't appear to be a soul left" after the villagers had been evacuated, she said.

The US State Department urged citizens to reconsider travel to Cuba in light of the weather conditions.

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