Jamaicans hunkered down Wednesday as Hurricane Sandy battered the island with heavy rains and powerful winds, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane conditions were expected in eastern Cuba in the evening, with the storm set to pass over the Bahamas Thursday and Friday, according to the NHC, which warned that conditions were “deteriorating” in Jamaica. Tropical storm conditions were also forecast for Florida’s east coast.
Sandy became a category one hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale as the storm’s top winds increased to near 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour, the Miami-based NHC said. It said some additional strengthening was “likely” before Sandy moves over Jamaica.
At 1500 GMT, Sandy was located about 65 miles south of Kingston and 235 miles south-southwest of the Cuban city of Guantanamo, near the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay that houses terror suspects.
The 18th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was expected to produce up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain across Jamaica, impoverished Haiti, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba, with up to 20 inches in some isolated areas.
“These rains may produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in areas of mountainous terrain,” the NHC said in its bulletin.
A powerful storm surge was set to raise water levels by up to eight feet (two meters) above normal tide levels in the Bahamas, triggering “large and dangerous” waves near the coast, according to the US forecasters.
Jamaica braces for a hit from Hurricane Sandy
