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Tropical storm Hanna heads for Bahamas, residents prepare for evacuation
Late Wednesday evening, tropical storm Hanna was centred 355 miles (575 kilometers) east-southeast of Nassau, Bahamas. The hurricane centre said Hanna was moving north-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph) and could become a hurricane on Thursday.
- Agencies
- Published: 08:46 September 4, 2008
Nassau: Late Wednesday evening, tropical storm Hanna was centred 355 miles (575 kilometers) east-southeast of Nassau, Bahamas. The hurricane centre said Hanna was moving north-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph) and could become a hurricane on Thursday.
The storm, with winds near 65 mph, turned to the northwest after lingering for days near Haiti, where it caused flooding that killed 26 people.
Bahamas National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest cancelled all leave for the Bahamas Royal Defence Force to keep soldiers on standby for disaster response.
"I now urge the general public to take the necessary precautions," Turnquest said at a news conference Wednesday.
As Hanna took aim at the heart of this Atlantic archipelago, islanders were also tracking two other storms churning westward in the open ocean, including Ike, which rapidly swelled late Wednesday evening into a ferocious Category 4 hurricane with winds near 135 mph (215 kph).
Ike was roaring far out in the Atlantic, 610 miles (980 kilometers) northeast of the Leeward Islands. Ike is the third major hurricane of the Atlantic season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The other two are Bertha and Gustav.
The storm was expected to pass near or over the central Bahamas on Thursday before reaching hurricane strength. But the National Hurricane Center in Miami warned its reach was expanding, with tropical-storm force winds extending up to 290 miles (465 kilometers) from the center.
"Hanna has become a large tropical cyclone," the center said.
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