Hurricane Erin intensifies to Category 4 as it approaches the Caribbean

Hurricane Erin strengthened into a Category 4 storm on Saturday (16) as it moved toward the Caribbean, and weather officials warned of possible flash floods and landslides.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory that the storm's maximum sustained winds had increased to 230 kilometers per hour (140 mph) at 8:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. ET), making it a major hurricane.

Erin, the first hurricane of this year's Atlantic season, was located about 120 miles northeast of Anguilla in the northern Leeward Islands, an area that includes the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

"Erin is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale," the NHC said. "Continued rapid strengthening is expected today, followed by fluctuations in intensity through the weekend."

Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for St Martin, St Barthelemy and Sint Maarten.

The center of the hurricane is expected to pass over the weekend just north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

The authority also warned of “locally considerable flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides.”

Swells generated by Erin will affect portions of the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Spanish, and the Turks and Caicos Islands through the weekend.

These waves will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda and the U.S. East Coast early next week, creating "life-threatening waves and rip currents," the NHC said.

The hurricane is forecast to turn north by late Sunday. While forecasters expressed confidence that Erin will remain well off the U.S. coast, they said the storm could still cause dangerous surf and erosion in places like North Carolina.

bur-mlm/abs/pbt/md/bjt/dd/aa