Tropical storm Chantal enters Caribbean, heads toward puerto Rico

Fast-moving Tropical Storm Chantal entered the eastern Caribbean Sea early Tuesday, threatening to bring torrential rain and a strong storm surge. Chantal was about 120 kilometers east of Barbados at 0900 GMT, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The storm was moving west-northwest at 42 kilometers per hour (kph), with many Caribbean islands in its path. A projection map shows Chantal brushing Puerto Rico and hitting the Dominican Republic and earthquake-ravaged Haiti on Wednesday. Chantal had maximum sustained winds of 85 kph on Tuesday morning but is expected to intensify over the next two days, the NHC said. A tropical-storm warning was in effect for Barbados, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, and parts of southern Dominican Republic. The storm is expected to drop 5 to 10 centimeters of rain over the islands in its path. Some places could receive as much as 15 centimeters. Storm surge from Chantal could raise water levels more than a meter above normal tide in the southern Dominican Republic. Dangerous waves and currents will accompany the surge, forecasters said.