Hurricane Emily, upgraded to Category 4, moved away from the Windward Islands and strengthened as it heads west towards Jamaica and the Gulf of Mexico.
Emily battered the eastern Caribbean island of Grenada Thursday, ripping off roofs, flooding streets and sending many fleeing their homes. One death was reported.
The BBC says nearly 2,500 people fled to shelters while others stayed at home with stockpiles of canned food and water. Grenada is still recovering from the more powerful Hurricane Ivan last year, which destroyed 90 percent of the island's homes.
At 5 a.m. EDT, the hurricane was about 385 miles southeast of the Dominican Republic with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph, forecasters said.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said if the storm follows its current course, it is expected to pass south of Jamaica Saturday, cross Mexico's Yucatan peninsula early Monday and enter the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
