SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated in eastern Cuba and a hurricane warning was in effect for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas as Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a Category 3 storm early Wednesday.

The storm, which has since been downgraded to Category 2, was expected to generate a storm surge of up to 12 feet (3.6 meters) in the region and drop up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain in parts of eastern Cuba.

Melissa was expected later Wednesday to move through the southeastern or central Bahamas, where a hurricane warning is in effect.

The hurricane has already been blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another

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