Hanna expands in size but not strength

MIAMI, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Hanna expanded by 60 miles midday Wednesday as it soaked the Dominican Republic and Haiti, U.S. forecasters in Miami said.

Hurricane warnings and watches were posted for most of the Bahamas while tropical storm warnings were up in the southeastern Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The southeastern United States was advised to brace for the storm.

At 5 p.m., Hanna was moving north at near 12 mph and was 100 miles north of Great Inagua Island and 60 miles west-northwest of Grand Turk Island.

Tropical storm-force winds extended 290 miles from the center, with sustained winds of 60 mph.

Forecasters said the southeastern Bahamas could received as much as 12 inches of rain as Hanna progresses and brings rain to southeastern Florida by Friday.

In the warning area, the report said coastal storm surge flooding of 1 to 3 feet above normal tide levels should be expected.

Wednesday morning, The Miami Herald reported Hanna's flooding was being blamed on at least 10 deaths in Haiti, where Hurricane Gustav killed nearly 80 people early last week.

Progress Energy Carolinas said it was monitoring the storm and making preparations to deal with any outages.