Irene strengthens to Category 3 hurricane
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MIAMI—Hurricane Irene has grown into a Category 3 hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of nearly 115 mph, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday.
The Miami-based hurricane center said the storm is expected to pass over the southeastern and central Bahamas on Wednesday, and the northwest Bahamas on Thursday.
“Some additional strengthening is forecast,” it said. As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, the storm was moving to the northwest at a speed of nearly 12 mph, the hurricane center said.
“Interests in Eastern North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic states should monitor the progress of Irene,” said the hurricane center in an advisory issued Wednesday afternoon.
Although it was not yet certain that Irene would make landfall in the continental United States and where that might occur, authorities Tuesday ordered the evacuation of Ocracoke Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks, as a precaution.
Meanwhile, Boston-based catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide Corp. warned of potential business interruption losses in the Bahamas.
“Given the large number of hotels in the region, business interruption losses may also be significant due both to direct physical damage and damage to supporting utilities,” AIR said in an advisory issued Wednesday. “Hotels can suffer significant damage to their outer cladding and contents at Category 3 wind speeds.”
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