The US territory of Puerto Rico has
declared a state of emergency as it braces for a tropical storm churning
through the Caribbean.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has
issued hurricane watch and tropical storm warnings for Puerto Rico and
the Dominican Republic.Forecasters now expect Tropical Storm Dorian to develop into a hurricane after making landfall in Puerto Rico.
President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration.
The move authorises US federal agencies to provide assistance and co-ordinate disaster relief.
By Wednesday morning, the storm was 290km (180 miles) south-east of Puerto Rico, approaching St Croix with maximum sustained winds of 60mph (96km/h), according to the NHC.
The NHC cautioned that tropical storm conditions are expected in Puerto Rico but hurricane conditions are also possible.
The centre said the storm may strengthen to a Category Two hurricane as it moves toward the east coast of Florida.
In Puerto Rico, a territory still recovering from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in 2017, there are fears of power cuts and damage from strong winds.
Up to 15cm (6in) of rain could fall in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, where swells along coastlines could cause "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions", forecasters have said.
The governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Vázquez Garced, who declared the state of emergency for the US territory on Monday, has called on its more than three million citizens to prepare.
