Hurricane Maria to become major storm near Caribbean islands
Maria is expected to
become a dangerous major hurricane as it nears the Leeward Islands in the
Caribbean.
It says that "a dangerous storm surge
accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much
as 5-7ft (1.5-2.1m) above normal tide levels near where the centre of Maria
moves across the Leeward Islands".
BBC
The category one hurricane will rapidly
strengthen over the next 48 hours and will hit the islands late on Monday, the
US National Hurricane Center says.
It is moving roughly along the same path as Irma,
the hurricane that devastated the region this month.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for
Guadeloupe, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat and Martinique.
A hurricane watch is now in effect for the US and
British Virgin Islands, St Martin, St Barts, Saba, St Eustatius and Anguilla.
Some of these islands are still recovering after
being hit by Irma - the category five hurricane which left at least 37 people
dead and caused billions of dollars' worth of damage.
In its latest
update at 03:00 GMT on Monday, the NHC says Maria has maximum sustained
winds of 85mph (137 km/h).
The eye of the storm is 140 miles north-east of
Barbados, and Maria is moving west-northwest at about 13mph.
"On the forecast track, the centre of Maria
will move across the Leeward Islands late Monday and Monday night and then over
the extreme north-eastern Caribbean Sea Tuesday and Tuesday night," the
NHC says.
The most southerly point of the Leeward Islands -
where Maria will first strike - include Antigua and Barbuda. The latter island
was evacuated after being devastated by Irma.
The NHC also forecasts a maximum potential
rainfall of 20in (51cm) across the central and southern Leeward Islands -
including Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands - through to
Wednesday night.
"Rainfall on all of these islands could
cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," it warned.
Earlier this month, Irma left more than
two-thirds of homes on the Dutch side of the island of St Martin (known as Sint
Maarten) uninhabitable, with no electricity, gas or drinking water.
The French government has said its side of St
Martin - known as Saint-Martin - sustained about €1.2bn ($1.44bn; £1.1bn) in
damage, with nine deaths across Saint-Martin and nearby St Barts.
On the British Virgin Islands, entire neighbourhoods were flattened.
After a visit to the area, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described the damage as something "you see in images of from the First World War".
Virgin boss Richard Branson, who has a home in the Virgin Islands, has been tweeting ahead of the storm's predicted arrival, warning people to stay safe.
On the British Virgin Islands, entire neighbourhoods were flattened.
After a visit to the area, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described the damage as something "you see in images of from the First World War".
Virgin boss Richard Branson, who has a home in the Virgin Islands, has been tweeting ahead of the storm's predicted arrival, warning people to stay safe.
Another massive storm is underway and may do more damage to already wounded communities. Stay safe, seek shelter. https://t.co/46lXqOikgL pic.twitter.com/7AknOYCK7f— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) September 17, 2017
Irma also hit the US, with 11 deaths being linked to the hurricane.
Nearly 6.9 million homes were left without power in Florida, Georgia,
North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama.
A second hurricane, Jose, is also active in the Atlantic, with maximum sustained winds of 90mph.
The
centre of the storm was about 335 miles south-east of Cape Hatteras in
North Carolina, the NHC said in its advisory at 21:00 GMT on Sunday.
Tropical storm watches have been issued for parts of the north-eastern US.
BBC
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