The Bahamas and Florida began bracing today for the approach of Hurricane Jeanne.
The deadly storm is moving westward in the Atlantic Ocean with maximum sustained winds nearing 100 mph (160 kph).
The Bahamas' government issued a hurricane warning for the northwestern part of the island chain, including Grand Bahama Island and New Providence, which includes the capital, Nassau, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the next 24 hours. The central Bahamas were under a tropical storm warning.
A hurricane watch took effect along the east coast of Florida from Florida City to St. Augustine, including Lake Okeechobee, alerting residents that hurricane conditions were possible in the next 36 hours, the hurricane center said.
The storm was expected to hit the northern Bahamas tomorrow and the east coast of Florida on Sunday, it said.
As a tropical storm, Jeanne soaked Haiti last weekend with torrential rains that triggered flooding and mudslides, killing 1,150 people and leaving 1,200 missing. It also killed two people in the US Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico and 11 in the Dominican Republic.