At least three people have died and more than 170 others have been injured after a tornado hit the Cuban capital Havana.

Several neighbourhoods in the city have been badly affected by the cyclone, which was swept in from the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday evening, according to local media reports.

Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, announced on Monday three people had been killed, while dozens more were being treated for injuries.

“The damage is severe, so far we regret the loss of 3 human lives and treated 172 injured,” he wrote on Twitter.

Photographs circulated online showed roofs torn off buildings, upturned cars and flooded streets in several Havana neighbourhoods.

Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Show all 18 1 /18 Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana A tornado and pounding rains smashed into the eastern part of Cuba's capital overnight, toppling trees, bending power poles and flinging shards of metal roofing through the air as the storm cut a path of destruction across eastern Havana AP Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Cuban firefighters hold babies wrapped in blankets during evacuations in the tornado-hit Luyano neighborhood AFP/Getty Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana A house partially destroyed by fallen trees EPA Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana A damaged car among building rubble AFP/Getty Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Residents of tornado-hit Regla neighbourhood stand in front of their destroyed house AFP/Getty Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Cuban firefighters assists a mother and her baby during evacuations AFP/Getty Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana People look at a vehicle laying side-up down EPA Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Havana residents walk over a fallen lamp post in the Tornado-hit Luyano district of the city AFP Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana A man tries to salvage belongings from a destroyed building AFP/Getty Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Cubans survey the damage from the storm in a Havana street AFP Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Damaged cars flattened by debris from a building AFP/Getty Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Emergency services have treated more than 170 people for injuries following the tornado AFP Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana epa07327757 People observe a vehicle affected by a tornado in Havana, Cuba, 28 January 2019. At least three people have died and 172 are injured so far after a tornado hit the Regla area. EPA/ERNESTO MASTRASCUSA ERNESTO MASTRASCUSA EPA Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana A fallen utility pole in the Luyano neighbourhood of Havana AFP Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana A can can be seen laying beneath debris from a fallen roof in Havana AFP Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana An ambulance drives through Havana early on Monday morning AFP Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana Police cordon off part of a neighbourhood in Havana early on Monday AFP Deadly tornado hits Cuban capital Havana A man clears debris from the damaged windscreen of his car in Havana AFP

Reports stated several districts in the city were experincing power cuts, while some areas also saw isolated landslides. Winds are thought to have reached in excess of 60mph.

Armando Caymares, from the Cuban meteorological institute Insmet, told the pro-government news outlet Cubadebate forecasters had previously observed the tornado forming off the coast.

He said residents from across the city had called to report the cyclone had made landfall late on Sunday evening.

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“People heard what sounded like a jet engine and felt changes in environmental pressure,” he added.

Tornados are a relatively rare occurrence in Havana, although the city has been hit by the weather phenomenon in the past.