The first Atlantic hurricane of the year threatens the Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Erin strengthened into a hurricane on Friday (15), the first of the season in the North Atlantic, and continues its trajectory towards the Caribbean, where it could cause heavy rains and flooding.

With sustained winds of up to 120 km/h, Erin is heading towards the British and American Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, according to the latest bulletin from the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The hurricane is expected to generate heavy rains over these territories between Friday night and Sunday, with “flash floods (…), as well as landslides or mudslides”, warned the meteorological agency.

The islands of Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy and Guadeloupe, further south, are on yellow alert as determined by the French meteorological services, due to heavy rains and thunderstorms caused by the peripheral effects that the hurricane could cause.

Erin is forecast to continue strengthening through the weekend until it becomes a "major hurricane," the NHC warns, predicting a northwestward movement that would take it over parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and then over the Bahamas.

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