Otto expected to become hurricane after drenching Caribbean islands as it whirls toward Azores

Otto gaining strength, could become a hurricane

MIAMI — Tropical Storm Otto has gained strength and is expected to become a hurricane as it heads farther east over the Atlantic.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm’s maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph (110 kph) early Friday and the storm is expected to reach hurricane strength later in the day.

A day earlier, raging floodwaters from Otto overturned cars, toppled power lines and washed out roads in the northeastern Caribbean.

Otto is located about 520 miles (835 kilometers) south of Bermuda and is heading east-northeast, away from Caribbean islands, near 14 mph (22 kph). The Hurricane Center predicts the storm will advance across the open Atlantic toward the Azores archipelago off Portugal.