Friday, August 17, 2007

Hurricane moves on east Caribbean

The Atlantic season's first hurricane is rapidly approaching the islands in the eastern Caribbean, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) says.

It says Dean has top sustained winds of 100mph (160km/h), making it a Category Two hurricane. A hurricane warning has been issued for Martinique, Guadeloupe and other French dependencies, and also for Dominica and St Lucia. The hurricane centre was some 305 miles east of Martinique at 2100 GMT. Forecasters said the storm could dump as much as 10 inches of rain in some mountainous areas, which could trigger flash floods and mudslides.

A tropical warning remains in several other islands of the Lesser Antilles, and a tropical storm watch is in place in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the NHC says. It says Dean is moving westwards at about 23mph, and this motion is expected to continue on Friday. For more details

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