Hurricane Irene is sweeping across the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, with experts warning of dangerous waves, life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.
Irene is now a category two hurricane and forecasters say it could become a major hurricane in the next day or so.
In the central and northwestern Bahamas, a storm surge is expected to raise water levels by as much as 7-11 feet above normal levels and by as much as 5-8 feet in the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas.
This will bring “large and dangerous wavesâ€, warned the Hurricane Center in Miami.
Meteorologists warn the hurricane could strengthen further and hit the US east coast over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the east coast of the US has been hit by a magnitude-5.8 earthquake.
The quake was felt in Washington, where the Pentagon and US Capitol were evacuated, as well as in New York.
Flights from JFK and from Reagan National Airport in Washington were temporarily suspended while the airports checked for damage to the runways, but were later resumed.
by Bev Fearis
