Hurricane Joaquin batters central, eastern Bahamas

Powerful Hurricane Joaquin pounded lightly populated islands of the eastern Bahamas on Thursday, and forecasters said it could grow more intense while following a path that would near the U.S. East Coast by the weekend.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage as the storm reached the island chain, said Capt. Stephen Russell, the director of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency.

The most severe flooding reported so far was on Acklins island, where power went off overnight and phones were down. Russell said some of the roughly 565 people who live there were trapped in their homes.

'No preparedness'

Bahamas resident Shandira Forbes said she had spoken to her mother on Acklins by phone Thursday.

"She was calling for help because the sea was coming into her house," Forbes said. "People's roofs were lifting up. No one knew (about the storm), so there was no preparedness, there was no meeting, there was nothing."

Flooding also was reported across parts of Long Island, but no one had been injured, said Parliament member Loretta Butler Turner.

"We will have to wait for the winds to die down before we can go out and really assess the damage," she said.

Islands such as San Salvador, Cat Island and Rum Cay were expected to be hit hardest before the storm begins an expected shift toward the north, forecasters said.

"Everyone is just trying to get their stuff battened down," said Frances Missick, chief councillor of Rum Cay, which has a population of about 100 and 40 homes.

Missick and other people on the small island gathered in a shelter set up at the St. Christopher Anglican Church. As of Thursday, there was only minor flooding and power and water were still running.

Joaquin was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 205 km/hand hurricane strength winds extending 75 kilometresfrom the eye, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. As of 11 a.m. EDT, the centre of the storm was passing over Samana Cays, Bahamas, and was moving west-southwest at9 km/h.

While Samana Cays is usually uninhabited, eight to 10 people were working there, staying in temporary housing, when the storm hit, said Parliament member Alfred Gray.

"If the buildings look like they won't withstand, there are some caves on the side of the rock that they can go into because it's not prone to flooding," he said.

The storm was predicted to turn to the north and northwest toward the United States on Friday, but forecasters were still gathering data to determine how it might affect the U.S. East Coast, which was already suffering flooding and heavy rains from separate storms.

"There's still a distinct possibility that his could make landfall somewhere in the U.S.," said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist and hurricane centre spokesman.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency late Thursday morning, Reuters reported.

Christie told a news conference that he would order evacuations if required.

The governor, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, cancelled some campaign events and plans to remain in New Jersey through Tuesday.

The Hurricane Center said parts of the Bahamas could see storm surge raising sea levelsas much as threemetresabove normal, with 250 to 380 millimetresof rain falling on the central Bahamas.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center's long-term forecast showed the storm could near the U.S. East Coast along North Carolina and Virginia on Sunday or Monday.

"Residents of the Carolinas north should be paying attention and monitoring the storm. There's no question," said Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist with the centre. "If your hurricane plans got a little dusty because of the light hurricane season, now is a good time to update them."