Tropical Storm Irma formed in the eastern Atlantic on Wednesday and is forecast to gain hurricane strength as it heads towards the Caribbean, US weather monitors said.

Irma is currently some 480 miles (770 kilometers) west of Cape Verde, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in its 2100 GMT bulletin.

It has maximum sustained winds of 60 miles (95 kilometers) per hour and is moving west at a speed of 15 miles per hour.

Irma comes in the wake of Harvey, which has pummeled Texas and Louisiana with soaking rains for days, unleashing deadly floods and leaving thousands of homes under water.

The storm is currently far from land, but heading straight towards the southern Caribbean, to the area between the US island territory of Puerto Rico and South America's northern coastline.

"Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Irma is expected to become a hurricane Thursday or Friday," the NHC said.

Irma is forecast to reach the Lesser Antilles islands in the Caribbean in the middle of next week.

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Macau weather agency under investigation for delayed typhoon warning
Macau (AFP) Aug 29, 2017
Macau graft busters have begun a probe into the city's weather bureau over its handling of deadly Severe Typhoon Hato, amid reports that deference to the island's gaming industry was behind delays to its storm warnings. The destruction wrought by the typhoon, which killed at least 10 people, prompted the resignation of Macau's weather chief, an apology from the city's leader and the deployme ... read more

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