Bahamas bears brunt as Jeanne heads for US

WITH Florida firmly in its sights, Hurricane Jeanne bore down on the Bahamas with violent winds and drenching rains last night threatening more destruction on islands still recovering from Hurricane Frances.

Jeanne was strengthening to a major hurricane and began to lash parts of the northern Bahamas last night before heading for Florida. The Bahamian capital, Nassau, on Providence Island, and the second city of Freeport, on Grand Bahama island, are in the threatened zone.

Frances killed two people and damaged thousands of homes when it tore through the Bahamas three weeks ago. Particularly hard-hit was Freeport, where some with heavily damaged homes are still living with relatives or neighbours.