Havana/Miami - Cuba was battening down its hatches for the third powerful hurricane this season as Hurricane Paloma barrelled toward the Caribbean island Saturday with category 4 winds.

The center of the storm was expected to approach the coast of south-central Cuba Saturday evening and emerge into the Atlantic Ocean late Sunday, the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami reported.

Maximum sustained winds were 230 kilometres an hour, making Paloma an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the centre said.

The storm was taking aim on the Cuban provinces of Ciego De Avila, Camaguey, Las Tunas, Granma and Holguin, with "potentially catastrophic" storm surge flooding of 7 to 8 metres, the storm center said.

Paloma has already buffeted the Cayman Islands on its way to Cuba. The storm became a hurricane in the Caribbean Sea late Thursday.

Cuba was struck by two powerful hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, within just seven days of each other between August and September. The island was devastated, with an estimated 9 billion dollars in damages.

Should Paloma make landfall on Cuba, it would be the fifth storm to hit the island this season.

Paloma is the 16th storm in the current season - set to end November 30 - in the Atlantic Ocean. (dpa)