HAVANA -- The storm that ripped through Cuba on Monday left four people dead and four injured, toppled five buildings and damaged 120 others, according to the National Information Agency (AIN).

Heavy rains and winds gusting to about 68 mph -- the strongest in any February since 1919 -- battered the island's western end Monday night and early Tuesday. The cause, according to the Meteorological Institute: a tropical depression reinforced by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

The bad weather forced the Havana airport to cancel flights Monday, and the government reported damage to tobacco, banana and sugar crops.

One of the four people killed was a teacher in the San Miguel del Padron district of Havana who was crushed by a falling tree. Another died in the Centro Havana section, AIN reported. It did not say where the other two died.

The four injured people were hurt in building collapses in the Havana districts of Arroyo Naranjo, Boyeros, Cerro, Centro Havana and La Lisa. One of them was in grave condition, AIN said.

The strong winds damaged the roofs of more than 120 dwellings, downed power lines and disrupted water distribution.

Wind and water damaged were reported in three major Havana hotels: the Neptuno, Triton and Riviera.

Havana city officials said more than 100 trees had been uprooted and that seven hinged buses -- of the type known popularly as ``camels'' -- were seriously damaged.

Early Tuesday, the Meteorological Institute warned that another wave of torrential rains and powerful winds threatened the eastern provinces of Sancti Spiritus and Ciego de Avila.

``Coastal flooding along the northern coasts could begin this afternoon, from Pinar del Rio to Matanzas, including the waterfront in Havana,'' the advisory said.