Heavy rain has lashed Cuba since Friday, flooding streets and leaving at least two people dead.
A number of buildings have collapsed in the capital, Havana, authorities say.
A 54-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman are reported to have died as a house crumbled in central Havana.
Up to 7.8in of rain fell overnight and the Cuban meteorological service has forecast more heavy rain for Saturday, particularly in the western and central regions.
Heavy rain has lashed Cuba since Friday, flooding streets and leaving at least two people dead
Yunior Amesa, the nephew of the two victims of the building collapse, told Associated Press news agency: “It was raining very hard and there was a lot of weight [from the water] up there. They went to bed.”
He says he narrowly escaped because he had to leave the house to go to work.
Many streets in Havana remain submerged, as the authorities assess the damage to other derelict buildings in the city.
Bad weather also led to the closure of the picturesque Malecon seaside boulevard, lashed by stormy waves, AP reported.
The torrential rain is expected to bring flooding to coastal areas in western Cuba and the central region.
Hurricane Ingrid, the second major storm of the hurricane season, has been steadily gathering strength in the Gulf of Mexico.
Most of people who have been evacuated are staying in official shelters while the remainder has sought refuge with friends and families.
In particular, the southern state of Chiapas and the eastern state of Veracruz have been affected.
Hurricane Ingrid, the second major storm of the hurricane season, has been steadily gathering strength in the Gulf of Mexico
Officials say that two of Mexico’s three major oil-exporting ports are closed, although most of the country’s Gulf Coast ports including Veracruz remained open on Saturday as the storm approached.
Ingrid is expected to deposit between 10in and 25in of rain over a large part of eastern Mexico, which will cause rivers to overflow and create flash floods and mudslides.
The hurricane could also cause a storm surge that would raise waters by 2ft-4ft above normal tide levels near where it makes landfall.
Earlier this week, 13 people were killed in Veracruz when their homes were buried under a landslide caused by heavy rains.
On the other side of the country, it is a similar story in the Pacific states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Chihuahua to the north.
They have been hit by Tropical Storm Manuel and an estimated 23in of rain is expected to be dumped in the region in just three days, almost twice the monthly rainfall.
The authorities fear that such massive amounts could cause further flash flooding and mudslides over what is traditionally a weekend of celebration for Mexico’s Independence Day.
BP has reached a $7.8 billion deal with the largest group of plaintiffs suing the company over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill.
It will benefit some 100,000 fishermen, local residents and clean-up workers whose livelihoods or health suffered.
BP has not admitted liability and still faces claims from the US and state governments, and drilling firms.
The rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, killing 11 workers and leaking four million barrels of oil.
BP says it expects the money to come from a $20 billion compensation fund it had previously set aside.
“From the beginning, BP stepped up to meet our obligations to the communities in the Gulf Coast region, and we’ve worked hard to deliver on that commitment for nearly two years,” BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said.
“The proposed settlement represents significant progress toward resolving issues from the Deepwater Horizon accident and contributing further to economic and environmental restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast.”
BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, killing 11 workers and leaking four million barrels of oil
Lawyers for the plaintiffs’ group, the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, said the settlement “does the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people”.
A trial in the case, due to begin on Monday, will now be delayed – for a second time – as a result of the deal, Judge Carl Barbier said.
The settlement will “likely result in a realignment of the parties,” he said.
The trial is now being adjourned “in order to allow the parties to reassess their respective positions,” Judge Barbier said.
The trial was due to resolve claims for damages and civil penalties arising from the spill.
Judge Barbier is an expert in maritime law and has consolidated hundreds of spill-related lawsuits into a single case.
The trial will probably still go ahead in order to apportion blame for the spill among BP and its fellow defendants.
Other companies involved include Transocean, who owned the rig, and Halliburton. All the companies are in dispute with each other over their liability to each other.
BP has so far paid out $7.5 billion in clean-up costs and compensation.
US President Barack Obama called the spill “the worst environmental disaster the nation has ever faced”.
It took 85 days to permanently stop the release of crude oil.
