National Hurricane Center

AFP - Hurricane Florence is expected to grow into an "extremely dangerous" hurricane by Monday as it approaches the US East Coast, the National Hurricane Center said, urging residents to make preparations.

Tropical Storm Ophelia has gained strength in the Atlantic and yesterday became a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center reported.

Hurricane Maria slammed into the Caribbean island of Dominica as a Category 5 storm with "merciless" 160 mph winds Monday night, and the storm, deemed "potentially catastrophic" by the National Hurricane Center, is now headed for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Maria blew up from a tropical storm into a major Category 5 hurricane in barely more than a day, bearing down on Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands that are still bailing out from Hurricane Irma, NBC News reports.

Hurricane Irma pounded heavily populated areas of central Florida on Sept. 11 as it carved through the state with high winds, storm surges and torrential rains that left millions without power, ripped roofs off homes and flooded city streets.

Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a category four storm as it nears Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 130mph (209km/h), reported BBC. 

Hurricane force wind gusts are battering islands in Florida's south, the governor says, with the mainland due to be hit in the coming hours.

Miami Beach was left deserted after tourists and residents fled in anticipation of the largest storm to hit the Atlantic in a decade, Hurricane Irma.
A state of emergency has been declared in South Florida, where more than half million people have been ordered to evacuate ahead of the storm.

Hurricane Irma is lashing Cuba with strong winds and heavy rain after devastating several Caribbean islands, reported BBC. 

The category five storm made landfall on the Camaguey Archipelago, off the north-eastern coast.

But the Bahamas have largely been spared after Irma changed track.

The eye of Hurricane Irma grazed the Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday, rattling buildings after it smashed a string of Caribbean islands as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, killing 14 people on its way to Florida, reported Reuters.

The eye of Hurricane Irma grazed the Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday, rattling buildings after it smashed a string of Caribbean islands as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, killing 14 people on its way to Florida.