"Dangerous Hurricane Frances (is) battering the Turks and Caicos islands and the southeastern Bahamas," the Miami-based National Hurricane Centersaid.

At 11 p.m. Wednesday (0300 GMT Thursday) it issued a hurricane watch for Florida's southeastern coast from Florida City to Flagler Beach, an area that includes Miami. A hurricane watch means means that sustained winds of at least 119 kilometers (74 miles) per hour are expected within 36 hours.

The storm, which packed winds of 220 kilometers (140 miles) per hour, caused some damage to roofs and trees as well as power outages on Grand Turk, according to ham radio reports from the island.

At 11:00 pm Wednesday (0300 GMT Thursday), the eye of the huge storm was 95 kilometers (60 miles) east-northeast of the southeastern Bahamas, but its winds extended 130 kilometers (80 miles) from its center.

NHC forecaster Stacy Steward warned that the Bahamian islands of Eleuthera and Grand Bahamas could expect "storm surge flooding of 6 to 14 feet (two-seven meters) above normal tide levels ... along with large and dangerous battering waves."

As residents of the Bahamian islands battened down, Florida braced for the potentially devastating storm.

In Palm Beach county, 300,000 residents were told to evacuate their homes by Thursday afternoon, and schools there and in other parts of south Florida were ordered closed.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency and stressed: "We are prepared, we will respond and we will recover."

While some forecasts have the hurricane slamming into Georgia or South Carolina, or heading into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, most experts believe there is a stronger chance it will hit Florida.

"We want everybody in the state to know there will likely be some impact from this very dangerous hurricane," NHC director Max Mayfield said in Miami as the storm was still almost 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away.

"If it remains a category four hurricane it certainly will cause extreme damage," he said at a news conference.

He also warned that because of the size of the storm, "the hurricane will not be just a coastal event. Wherever it strikes land, those strong winds, heavy rains and some of the tornadoes will spread well inland."

Florida is still recovering from the death and destruction wrought earlier this month by Hurricane Charley, which hit southwestern parts of the state.

The eventual hurricane track will depend largely on a ridge of high pressure just north of the storm. If that system remains where it is and maintains its strength "it will be a Florida hurricane," said Mayfield.

Florida authorities were taking no chances.

"All Floridians should complete their family hurricane preparedness plans today and be ready to implement them in the event that local emergency management recommends action on Thursday or Friday," the state's Division of Emergency Management said in a statement.

Across South Florida, residents lined up to buy hurricane supplies, including plywood to board up their windows, bottled water and flashlights.

Several cruise ships diverted from their initial schedules to steer clear of the storm.

Meanwhile, Richmond, the capital of the US state of Virginia, was cleaning up Wednesday after tropical storm Gaston caused widespread flooding and reportedly killed at least five people.

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