Hurricane Tomas was thrashing small islands late Saturday in the eastern Caribbean and moving westward, according to the Miami-based US Hurricane Centre.
The storm was moving away from St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia, though hurricane warnings remained in effect. Martinique was also under a warning, while Dominica, Tobago and Grenada were still receiving winds at tropical storm force, dpa reported.
Located about 70 kilometres north-west of St Vincent, Tomas had maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometres per hour, registering at category one, the first step on the five-category Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane wind force. Hurricane-force winds stretched across a 70-kilometre-wide swath.
The US National Hurricane Centre was forecasting "some additional strengthening" of the storm on Sunday and Monday.
The hurricane was moving west-north-west at 15 kilometres per hour.
Storm surges on the affected islands were expected to diminish overnight Saturday. Total rainfall was forecast at 10-15 centimetres with up to 20 centimetres in some areas.