A state of emergency has been declared in the US state of Florida as a hurricane a tropical storm sweep across the Caribbean region.
The BBC News website reports that tropical storm Bonnie has already caused 100 oil rigs to be evacuated and is expected to hit the Florida coast within hours, with Hurricane Charley expected to arrive on Friday, after passing over the Cayman Islands today.
Torrential rain from the hurricane has already affected Jamaica and, while there have been no casualties reported, there has reportedly been flooding and a number of mudslides in parts of the island.
This is the first time that two storms of such intensity will have hit Florida in 24 hours; local newspapers are reporting that such an event could overwhelm the state’s emergency services and that the National Guard has been activated.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
