MIAMI: Hurricane Gustav was downgraded early Sunday to a Category 3 storm after it crossed Cuba and moved into the Gulf of Mexico, the US government's National Hurricane Centre announced.

"Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 125 miles (205 kilometres) per hour with higher gusts," the centre said in its latest advisory. "Gustav is a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale."

But the centre warned Gustav could regain Category 4 strength by the end of the day on Sunday.

The hurricane hit western Cuba on Saturday, tearing off roofs, flattening buildings and plunging communities into darkness.

Earlier, it left at least 81 people dead in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.


- AFP/so