Michelle becomes a hurricane threatening Caribbean

Tropical Storm Michelle reached hurricane strength today as it churned through the Caribbean after drenching Honduras, Nicaragua and Jamaica with four days of rains that killed six people, left 26 missing and forced more than 115,000 to flee their homes.

As rescuers scrambled to reach those left homeless or trapped by floods in Honduras, Hurricane Michelle moved north with wind speeds of 75 mph threatening flooding in Cuba and the Cayman Islands.

Two men have already been killed in Jamaica by floods and mudslides, and Cuba has declared a hurricane watch for the island’s western provinces.

Forecasters urged residents of the Florida Keys to keep an eye on the storm’s progress.

The governor of the coastal Mexican state of Quintana Roo, home to the resort city of Cancun, placed authorities on ‘‘high alert,’’ in case the storm changed course slightly.