Tropical Storm Debby races toward Leeward Islands

A satellite image of Tropical Storm Debby taken at 7:30 p.m. EDT

CHARLESTOWN, Nevis (Reuters) -- Tropical Storm Debby raced across the Atlantic toward landfall Monday, prompting residents of many of the tiny northeastern Caribbean islands to board up windows and search for emergency supplies as they braced for a possible hurricane.

The governments of France, Antigua, the United States and the Netherlands Antilles issued alerts for islands ranging from tiny Dominica, with about 75,000 people, to Puerto Rico with 3.8 million, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. At 7 p.m. EDT, the government of the Dominican Republic issued a tropical storm watch for their country.

Across the region, which has suffered the impact of several big storms in recent years, people prepared for the potential onslaught, protecting their homes, buying supplies and filling gas tanks.

DEBBY INFORMATION 11:00 p.m. EDT Monday POSITION: 17.2 north latitude 61.0 west longitude, 55 miles (185 km) east of Antigua MOVEMENT: West-northwest at 20 mph (32 km/h) WIND SPEED: 70 mph (110 km/h) HURRICANE WARNING: The Leeward Islands from Guadeloupe north and northwestward through the British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands HURRICANE WATCH: Puerto Rico, Dominica TROPICAL STORM WARNING: Dominica TROPICAL STORM WATCH: Dominican Republic TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS: Extend 175 miles (280 km) from the center.   INTERACTIVE Browse through our interactive timeline of deadly hurricanes     GLOSSARY Glossary of hurricane terms    STORM NAMES FOR 2000 What names will the storms have this year?     RESOURCES CNN - Storm Center     STORM WATCH E-MAIL Sign up for CNN.com's U.S. Storm Watch E-mail.     MESSAGE BOARD Nature's wrath

In the Dutch territory Saba, captains headed their dive boats for safe harbor and in nearby St. Maarten, the government imposed a 2 a.m. curfew.

"It would just be devastating to be hit again by another storm," said Glenn Holm, director of tourism with the Saba Tourist Bureau. "We're well-trained now. We are beginning to close up shutters and put away flying things."

At 11 p.m. EDT, Debby was centered about 55 miles east of the Leeward Islands near latitude 17.2 north and longitude 61.0 west, the hurricane center said.

Debby was just below hurricane strength, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, and it was moving west at about 20 mph, forecasters said.

"The system is not well organized. The center is not well formed," National Hurricane Center specialist Richard Pasch said.

Debby could become a hurricane later Monday or Tuesday, forecasters said.

The islands from Guadeloupe northward and westward through to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico were under hurricane warnings, which alert residents to hurricane conditions within 24 hours.

The Hovensa oil refinery in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, which processes some 545,000 barrels per day, shut down some units as a precaution as the storm approached, a spokesman said.

Cruise ships scheduled to dock Tuesday and Wednesday at Havensight in Charlotte Amalie, a St. Thomas port, revised their itineraries because of the approaching storm.

As residents shopped for batteries and other emergency supplies, Virgin Islands governor Charles Turnbull issued a consumer price freeze.

Included in the hurricane warning area were the Dutch territories of St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius; the French possessions Guadeloupe and St. Martin; independent nations Antigua and Barbuda; and St. Kitts and Nevis and other islands.

The Leeward Islands have been hit often in recent years. Some tourist destinations are still out of commission from the devastating passage of Hurricane Georges in 1998.

On Nevis, the upscale Four Seasons Resort, which has been closed since November 1999 after storm surge flooded out much of the property, is due to open Nov. 24 following a $50 million reconstruction.

Debby was threatening St. Kitts and Nevis during a regional celebration of Caribbean culture, called Carifesta VII. More than 1,000 artists, musicians, writers and intellectual leaders from throughout the Caribbean were visiting the country.

Tropical storms form and are given names when maximum sustained winds reach 39 mph and they become hurricanes when top winds hit 74 mph.

The season's first storm, Alberto, lingered in the north Atlantic Monday, weakening slightly but still maintaining hurricane strength with 85 mph winds.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Alberto was about 950 miles west of the Azores Islands at latitude 40.6 north and longitude 46.4 west. It was moving north-northeast at about 12 mph .

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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