Deadly Storms Line Up Behind Gustav

Two more potentially devastating storms are gathering strength in the Atlantic behind hurricane Gustav, US authorities warned today.

Cuba has been told to expect "life-threatening" mudslides and flash flooding from hurricane Hanna, which moved north of the Bahamas today.

The US national hurricane center urged residents in the south-east of the US to monitor the progress of Hanna, which was upgraded from a tropical storm yesterday.

It is expected to hit the US later this week.

"The uncertainty is such that it could hit anywhere from Miami to the outer banks of North Carolina," said Jessica Schauer Clark, a meteorologist at the NHC. "People really need to keep an eye on it."

Hanna stalled for hours over the south-eastern Bahamas yesterday, lashing the islands with winds and rain. Hanna, with maximum sustained winds near 80mph (130km/h), lingered for much of the day near Mayaguana and nearby islands.

There were no reports of injuries or major damage but emergency teams were standing by and would begin assessing the situation once the storm cleared, said Stephen Russell, interim director of the Bahamas national emergency management agency.

Behind Hanna lies tropical storm Ike, which the NHC warned could be upgraded to a hurricane over the next two days.

It caused winds of 50mph over the mid-Atlantic this morning and is forecast to strengthen and head north-west.

Nasa was not taking any chances and delayed the planned move of the space shuttle Atlantis from an assembly building at Florida's Kennedy space center to the launchpad by at least a day. The move had been scheduled today in preparation for an October shuttle mission to the Hubble space telescope.