Hurricane Irene bears down on Dom. Republic, Haiti

Hurricane Irene struck Puerto Rico early Monday and barreled toward the Dominican Republic and quake-ravaged Haiti, bringing high winds and rain to that disaster-prone rim of the Caribbean, forecasters said. Irene reached hurricane strength as it passed over Puerto Rico, and at 1300 GMT packed winds of 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said. There were no immediate reports of damage in the densely populated US possession whose capital San Juan came within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of the eye of the category one hurricane. Irene was located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east-northeast of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, on a track to later hit the northern coast of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The United States was also bracing for a hit in Florida later in the week, where Irene could make landfall as a category two hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, forecasters said. Irene was expected to strengthen further as it moves west-northwest at around 23 kilometers (14 miles) an hour, according to the NHC. A hurricane warning was in effect for the north coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, an impoverished country that was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake in January 2010 that killed an estimated 225,000 people, and then afflicted by a cholera epidemic. All of Haiti was under a tropical storm warning. Haiti dodged a weather disaster earlier this month when it was brushed by Tropical Storm Emily, but Irene revived fears for the 300,000 people still living in makeshift camps. In the Haitian capital, the US embassy announced that the naval hospital ship USNS Comfort, which arrived in Port-au-Prince on Thursday, would be forced to cease operations and seek safe haven due to the forecast. Haiti was the ship's final port of call at the end of a five-month humanitarian aid mission in Latin America and the Caribbean. The storm was forecast to track northwest toward the Bahamas and Florida coast, with hurricane conditions expected for the southeastern and central Bahamas by late Tuesday. Irene was expected to dump up to 51 centimeters (20 inches) or rain in some parts of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, with 13 to 25 centimeters (five to 10 inches) in most areas. "These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in areas of steep terrain," the US center said. A storm surge accompanied by "large and dangerous waves" was also forecast to raise water levels by up to 1.2 meters (four feet) above normal tide levels along the Dominican coast, and up to 90 centimeters (three feet) along the northwest coast of Puerto Rico and other areas affected by the storm. Further south, Tropical Depression Harvey was driving across southern Mexico with high winds and rain in tow after striking the coast of Belize on Saturday and lashing Guatemala. It has been downgraded from a tropical storm, and practically dissipated over mountainous terrain. But the storm still posed a threat of flash floods and mudslides in some areas.