Hurricane Erin has strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it threatens to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to the eastern coast of the United States.
The rains caused by the storm are already beginning to hit the south-eastern Bahamas, and the Turk and Caicos Islands, where a tropical storm warning is in effect.
While Erin is not expected to make landfall on the islands, it is expected to bring rainfall of up to six inches (15.2cm) to the Turks and Caicos and the eastern Bahamas.
Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, “explosively deepened and intensified” on Saturday into a Category 5 storm, before briefly losing force and now regaining strength.
As of 20:00 local time on Monday (01:00 BST Tuesday), the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 130mph (210 km/h) as it passed east of the Bahamas.
In Turks and Caicos, an overseas British territory, authorities suspended public services on its largest island and told residents in vulnerable areas to pack in case of evacuation.
BBC Weather’s lead presenter Helen Willetts says that Hurricane Erin is currently “a major storm”.
“Although at this stage it’s not expected to make a direct hit to land, it will bring considerable amounts of rain, leading to flash flooding, coastal flooding from storm surge, wind damage and dangerous rip currents,” she adds.
“We have already seen heavy rain falls in Puerto Rico – 82mm in 24 hours – and in Anguilla, 62.3mm.”
More than 150,000 people were also left without power in Puerto Rico after high winds damaged electricity lines, according to local energy company Luma.
But the firm said it had carried out emergency repairs and that by Sunday evening local time, 95% of its customers had working electricity.
The hurricane’s outer rain bands have started to affect the Bahamas, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
While the storm is not expected to hit the islands directly, the country’s Disaster Risk Management Authority encouraged residents to prepare.
Its managing director, Aarone Sargent, told Bahamians to check which shelters were nearest to them and to ensure they knew of alternative shelters should the first one be full.
“These storms are very volatile and can make sudden shifts in movement,” he said.
The NHC forecast is for the core of Erin to pass to the east of the south-eastern Bahamas today and move between Bermuda and the eastern coast of the US by the middle of the week.
It also said that Erin would remain “a large and dangerous hurricane” through this time.
The Outer Banks – a string of islands off the coast of North Carolina – are already bracing for heavy surf and high winds.
The authorities there have ordered a mandatory evacuation of Hatteras Island, warning that the main highway linking Hatteras to other islands could become impassable.
Forecasters have also warned of dangerous rip tides which could affect the entire US East Coast.
