Caribbean Braces For Another Blow

Hurricane Luis gathered speed in the open Atlantic and headed Sunday for the Caribbean, where islanders boarded up windows, pulled boats onto shore and stocked up on supplies.

Luis, with sustained winds of 140 mph, was 400 miles east of Puerto Rico and moving west at 14 mph. The National Weather Service said it could strike the Caribbean within two days.

A hurricane watch was issued for Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat. Rafael Mojica, deputy director of the National Weather Service office in San Juan, said Puerto Rico and other islands in the northeastern Caribbean probably would be placed on hurricane watch today.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Henriette churned toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, dumping heavy rains along the Pacific coast.

Sunday evening Henriette was 130 miles southeast of the tip of Baja California and heading northwest at 7 mph. It had sustained winds of 85 mph.