Eastern Caribbean islands brace for heavy flooding due to Tropical Storm Bret

Tropical Storm Bret strengthened on Wednesday, threatening islands in the eastern Caribbean with heavy rain, landslides, and flooding.

A tropical storm watch was in effect for Barbados, St Lucia, Martinique, and Dominica, as people were warned by officials in the region to prepare for the storm.

According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Bret had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph) early Wednesday morning and was heading westward across the Atlantic Ocean at 16 mph (26 kph).

The storm is anticipated to intensify before hitting several eastern Caribbean islands with hurricane strength on Thursday.

The hurricane center said it was too early to tell where Bret's center would pass through, but it warned that rain of up to 10 inches (25 cm) was expected from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe south to Grenada and Barbados.

Bret is anticipated to weaken when it enters the eastern Caribbean Sea and to become a tropical wave soon after.

The storm formed on Monday and is being followed by a tropical disturbance with an 80 per cent chance of cyclone formation.