A rare and powerful tornado that struck Havana killed three people and left 172 injured, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said early yesterday.

Diaz-Canel, who toured the darkened streets of Havana in the pre-dawn hours visiting emergency crews, wrote on Twitter that damage to the Cuban capital from the late Sunday tornado was "severe." The tornado overturned vehicles, uprooted trees, knocked down lampposts, and left part of the city in the dark.

In the city's Luyano neighborhood storm debris -- including parts of a balcony ripped off an old building -- blocked the streets, AFP photographers reported.

As emergency sirens blared across the city, firefighters and ambulances rushed about on rescue missions, their flashing lights giving light to blacked out areas.