Hurricane Ike has weakened into a Category 2 storm after roaring ashore in northeastern Cuba as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane.
The US National Hurricane Center says it could weaken even further over Cuba but regain Category 3 strength as it nears the Gulf of Mexico.
It remains a serious threat to 4,000 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, which produce 25% of US oil and 15% of its natural gas.
Ike is the second major storm to hit Cuba in just over a week and prompted more than 800,000 people to evacuate coastal areas to the east.
More than 9,000 foreign tourists were moved out of the resort of Varadero.
The low-lying Turks and Caicos islands were the first to be hit.
Haiti is still a major concern where four storms in three weeks killed at least 600 people and left hundreds of thousands in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter.
Some 650,000 Haitians have been affected by the flooding, including 300,000 children.
