Sandy now a category 1 hurricane as it hits Jamaica

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller cut short an official visit to Canada to return to the island for the hurricane’s passage.

Late Wednesday morning, Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph (80 mph) and was centered 100 kilometres (65 miles) south of Kingston. It was moving north-northeast at 20 kph (13 mph).

Meanwhile, U.S. forecasters said Tropical Storm Tony had formed over the open Atlantic, but posed no threat to land. The storm had maximum sustained winds of about 85 kph (50 mph) and it was moving east-northeast at 33 kph (21 mph ). Its center was 2,005 kilometres (1,245 miles) west-southwest of the Azores.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press

Pages: 1 2 3