A warning flag flies on the beach while people swim in Condado, Puerto Rico, as Hurricane Erin approaches on Friday.
Alejandro Granadillo / AP
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Alejandro Granadillo / AP
San Juan, Porerto Rico – Erin strengthened in a powerful category 4 hurricane in the Caribbean on Saturday and continues to intensify, said National Hurricane Center.
The storm is currently 150 miles northeast of Anguilla with maximum sustained winds of 145 MPH. It moves to the West North West to 20 MPH.
It is currently not planned to hit land, but strong winds affect the neighboring islands, encouraging forecastists to warn possible floods, landslides and mud shifts. The Hurricane Center said that it would move away from the continental United States.
Tropical storm watches are in place for Saint-Martin, Saint-Barts and Saint-Maarten.
“Erin’s outdoor bands should produce areas of strong precipitation until Sunday through the northern islands of the sub computement, the Virgin and Puerto Rico Islands,” said the center. The currently “compact” storm should grow in size in the coming days, causing rough ocean waters above the Western Atlantic.
Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm overhang expert, said that Erin should possibly take a net to the northeast turn that would put him on a path between the United States and the Bermuda.
“All of our best consensual aids show that Ecrin is running safe in the east of the United States next week, but it will be a much closer to Bermuda, which could land on the strongest Erin’s eastern side,” he said.
Erin is the fifth named Storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season, which takes place from June 1 to November 30, but the first to reach the status of hurricanes.
“Erin should explode into a powerful category 4 hurricane while it moves through very hot waters in the open Atlantic.
This year’s season should be unusually busy again. The forecast provides six to 10 hurricanes, with three to five reaching a major status with winds of more than 110 MPH.
The US government has deployed more than 200 employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies in Puerto Rico as a precaution while the forecasters have published flood surveillance for the entire American territory at the end of the end of Monday to Monday.
Puerto Rico’s housing secretary Ciary, Pérez Peña, said that 367 shelters had been inspected and could be opened if necessary.
The American Coast Guard said on Friday that it had closed six sea ports in Puerto Rico and two in the US Virgin Islands to all incoming ships unless you have received prior authorization.
Meanwhile, Bahamas officials said they had prepared public shelters as a precaution by urging people to follow the hurricane.
“These storms are very volatile and can make sudden changes in motion,” said Aarone Sargent, director general of the Bahamas disaster risk management authority.
