US National Hurricane Center News

"During its passage over land, it will cause intense to torrential rains and possible mudslides and flooding, as well as rising levels in streams and rivers, in the states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco," Mexico's National Water Commission said in a statement.

Guadeloupe was on "red alert" Monday with schools, businesses and government offices ordered to close, as was neighbouring Martinique, which is also part of France. Each has a population of around 400,000 people.

Norma looked likely to churn toward the Los Cabos resort area, according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The US National Hurricane Center reports that the storm's maximum sustained winds are at 145 mph (230 kph).

Now a powerful Category Four storm, Hurricane Nicole churned toward Bermuda late Wednesday, with a direct hit possible, forecasters warned.

People along the southeast US coast fled inland, stocked up on groceries and queued for gasoline on Wednesday as President Barack Obama and state governors urged millions to evacuate or brace for a potentially devastating Hurricane Matthew.

Hurricane Joaquin intensified as it approached the small, sparsely populated islands of the eastern Bahamas on a projected track that would take it near the US East Coast early next week.