25 October 2012 Last updated at 19:06 ET
Sandy is expected to bring high winds, heavy rain and extreme tides to the eastern US seaboard
The Bahamas have been preparing for the arrival of hurricane Sandy, which has left at least two people dead as it swept through Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba.
Schools, offices, airports and bridges closed across the islands on Wednesday as residents stocked up on supplies.
As of 1700 EDT (2100 GMT) Florida was under a tropical storm warning.
With maximum sustained winds of 165km/h (105mph) Sandy was moving north at 20mph over Cat Island, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Earlier, it had caused a storm surge leading to severe flooding along Cuba's south-eastern coastline.
In the popular tourist destination of Santiago de Cuba, the island's second-largest city, tv footage showed fallen trees, damaged buildings and debris-choked streets.
More than 50,000 people had been moved from their homes in the city as a precaution.
Strong winds and rain also battered the US naval base and detention facility at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, confining some workers to their quarters and prompting a number of prisoners to be moved to safer accommodation.
Sandy was expected to head north-west and move slower throughout Thursday night and into Friday, getting gradually larger as its eye moved through the central Bahamas overnight.
It was forecast to weaken, but remain a hurricane during the next 48 hours, said the NHC.
In Jamaica earlier, more than 1,000 people sought refuge in shelters as Sandy caused widespread power outages, flooded streets and damaged buildings.
A 48-hour curfew was imposed in the island's major towns to deter the looting that had accompanied previous storms.
Sandy has left devastation in its wake as it moved north, killing an elderly man in Jamaica when a boulder fell on a house and reportedly resulting in the drowning of a woman trying to cross a swollen river in Haiti.
Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
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The Bahamas have been preparing for the arrival of hurricane Sandy, which has left at least two people dead as it swept through Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba.
Schools, offices, airports and bridges closed across the islands on Wednesday as residents stocked up on supplies.
As of 1700 EDT (2100 GMT) Florida was under a tropical storm warning.
With maximum sustained winds of 165km/h (105mph) Sandy was moving north at 20mph over Cat Island, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Earlier, it had caused a storm surge leading to severe flooding along Cuba's south-eastern coastline.
In the popular tourist destination of Santiago de Cuba, the island's second-largest city, tv footage showed fallen trees, damaged buildings and debris-choked streets.
More than 50,000 people had been moved from their homes in the city as a precaution.
Strong winds and rain also battered the US naval base and detention facility at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, confining some workers to their quarters and prompting a number of prisoners to be moved to safer accommodation.
Sandy was expected to head north-west and move slower throughout Thursday night and into Friday, getting gradually larger as its eye moved through the central Bahamas overnight.
It was forecast to weaken, but remain a hurricane during the next 48 hours, said the NHC.
In Jamaica earlier, more than 1,000 people sought refuge in shelters as Sandy caused widespread power outages, flooded streets and damaged buildings.
A 48-hour curfew was imposed in the island's major towns to deter the looting that had accompanied previous storms.
Sandy has left devastation in its wake as it moved north, killing an elderly man in Jamaica when a boulder fell on a house and reportedly resulting in the drowning of a woman trying to cross a swollen river in Haiti.
Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions