MIAMI, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Authorities were shooing tourists off the Florida Keys Saturday ahead of oncoming Hurricane Ike, which swelled to Category 4 status.

They also were planning a mandatory phased evacuation of island residents Sunday, as almost all of Florida remained in the predicted trajectory of the storm, The Miami Herald reported.

"Ike is now an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale," the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 5 p.m. EDT advisory. "Fluctuations are possible during the next 48 hours, but Ike is expected to remain a major hurricane during this period."

Ike was producing winds of 135 mph with higher gusts and taking aim on the Turks and Caicos Islands, which was under a hurricane warning. Ike's eye was about 90 miles east of Grand Turk Island and the storm was moving west-southwest about 15 mph.

It was expected to pass near or over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas Saturday night or early Sunday and then turn westward, likely hitting eastern Cuba Sunday night and early Monday, the hurricane center said.

The governments of the Bahamas and Cuba issued hurricane warnings for portions of their regions.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Storm surge flooding of 13-18 feet above normal tide levels was forecast, with rainfall of 4-12 inches common and isolated instances of up to 20 inches, meaning flash floods and mudslides are possible, the hurricane center said.

Hanna makes landfall in Carolinas

OAK ISLAND, N.C., Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Hanna hit the Carolina coast Saturday and headed north toward New England, leaving downed trees and power failures in its wake.

But there were no reports of deaths, injuries or major damage by noon, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported.

"It's been an awning here, a satellite dish there," said Kelly L. Brosky, a spokeswoman for Horry County on the South Carolina coast. "Given that inland areas got five to six inches of rain, the flooding really hasn't been anything major."

Some flooding and power outages were reported as Hanna's eye struck near the North Carolina-South Carolina border early Saturday, pounding the beaches of Oak Island, N.C., and its Oak Crest pier, which was destroyed nine years ago by Hurricane Floyd, CNN reported.

By 2 p.m., the center of the large, quick-moving storm was just northeast of Williamsburg, Va., the National Hurricane Center reported. The storm was moving northeast at 25 mph and was expected to pick up speed during the next day.

The sustained winds were almost 50 mph with tropical storm winds extending 200 miles from the center. By mid-afternoon, rain from Hanna was already falling in New Jersey, and forecasters said the storm would hit New England overnight and the Canadian Maritime provinces Sunday.

Five killed as rainstorms sweep Britain

MANCHESTER, England, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A second straight day of heavy rains pelted Britain Saturday, killing five people as emergency crews scrambled to respond, authorities said.

The east and northeast of England were taking the brunt of the storms Saturday after southwestern England and Wales were pounded Friday, meteorologists said. Liscombe, in Somerset, was the wettest part of Britain, receiving 2 inches of rainfall.

Among Friday's victims were a 17-year-old girl who died after the four-wheel-drive vehicle in which she was riding overturned and plunged into a swollen river in Powys, Wales, The Times of London reported. The girl was visiting the Llyn Briane Reservoir area at the time.

Meanwhile, authorities said a man and a woman died when their car collided with a tree as they drove through torrential rain and high winds in Plymouth, England.

A severe flood warning was in effect Saturday for parts of Manchester, while hundreds of other flood warnings and watches covered other parts of England, The Daily Telegraph reported. Among the areas impacted in the north of England included the Peak District in Derbyshire.

Turkish, Armenian heads meet to thaw ties

YEREVAN, Armenia, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Turkish President Abdullah Gul met with Armenian President Serge Sarkisian in Armenia Saturday in a bid to thaw relations frozen since World War I.

The meeting -- at Sarkisian's office before an unprecedented World Cup qualifying soccer match between the two nations -- marked "a new symbolic start in the countries' relations," Sarkisian said.

The two leaders -- who met despite heavy public opposition in each nation -- "shared opinions on how to bring stability and cooperation to the Caucasus region," including a Turkish proposal for a regional forum to encourage political and economic links with five neighbors, Armenia among them, Gul said at a news conference with Sarkisian.

Turkey proposed the forum following Russia's incursion in Georgia, which borders Armenia and Turkey.

Gul is the first Turkish leader to set foot in Armenia since the former Soviet republic declared independence in 1991.

Some observers believe the meeting could lead to the full diplomatic relations in the near future, Euronews reported. They have had no diplomatic relations and their border has been closed since 1993.

Their animosity goes back to Ottoman-era massacres of Armenians that many historians call a genocide, a label Turkey disputes.

Turkey won Saturday's World Cup qualifying match 2-0.