Powerful Hurricane Earl moved toward the U.S. East Coast on Tuesday, amid warnings it may cause catastrophic damage after dumping heavy rain and wind on Caribbean islands. Packing winds of up to 135 miles an hour, Earl, now a strong Category Four storm, brushed past Puerto Rico and moved toward the Atlantic, as experts forecast it may reach North Carolina by midweek and travel north from there. Earl damaged homes, downed trees, blocked roads and snapped power lines in the Caribbean, including the French islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, where thousands of people were left without power. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said tropical conditions would affect portions of Puerto Rico early Tuesday, with stronger winds likely in elevated terrain before the pattern spread to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
