Caribbean islands still coming to terms with the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma are preparing themselves for a possible second major storm in two weeks.
Tropical Storm Maria was upgraded to a category one hurricane force on Sunday by the US National Hurricane Center.
The storm is currently following roughly the same path as Irma.
As a result, hurricane warnings have been issued for the US and British Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico.
They were all hit by Hurricane Irma – the category five storm which left at least 37 people dead and caused billions of dollars worth of damage – earlier this month.
France has also issued a hurricane warning for its territory of Guadeloupe.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Maria had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km) at 21:00 GMT on Sunday and is expected to cross the Leeward Islands, that include the Virgin Islands, on Monday night.
Puerto Rico avoided a direct hit with Hurricane Irma, but in the British Virgin Islands entire neighbourhoods were flattened.
After a visit to the area, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described the damage as something “you see in images of from the First World War”.
Virgin boss Richard Branson, who has a home in the Virgin Islands, has been tweeting ahead of the storm’s predicted arrival, warning people to stay safe.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for…
* Guadeloupe
* Dominica
* St. Kitts, Nevis, and Montserrat
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
* Martinique
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Saba and St. Eustatius
* St. Lucia
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for…
* U.S. Virgin Islands
* British Virgin Islands
* Saba and St. Eustatius
* St. Maarten
* St. Martin and St. Barthelemy
* Anguilla
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…
* Barbados
* St. Vincent and the Grenadines
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