Cuba – one of the UK's key citrus sources – is reeling from the effects of hurricane Michelle, which hit the country last night.
Torrential rain and 160 mph winds battered the island's agricultural heartland, causing some 200,000 people to be evacuated from their homes.
Although Havana, the capital, has so far escaped significant damage, most at risk is the tobacco crop in the western province of Pinar del Rio.
Max Mayfield, the director of the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said: 'We are setting up for what appears to be a real disaster in Cuba.' But Cuba's President Castro sought to reassure inhabitants in a televised address, telling residents: 'It's not very nice to be visited by a cyclone now, but no one is in a panic. We're calm, serene and secure.' The category four hurricane – the worst the country has seen in 50 years – had already claimed 20 lives and left thousands homeless in Central America before it reached Cuba.
And forecasters predict Michelle will veer north east towards the Bahamas, away from the south coast of Florida, with was under a tropical storm warning yesterday.
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