Hurricane Ike strengthened into an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane as it churned westward across the Atlantic on a path that would take it through the Bahamas toward Cuba, the US National Hurricane Center said.
The densely populated Miami-Fort Lauderdale area in south Florida was not out of the line of fire from Ike and visitors were ordered to begin evacuating the Florida Keys island chain.
Tropical storm Hanna death toll rises
There has been a sharp jump in the number of people known to have been killed when tropical storm Hanna struck Haiti earlier this week.
The police commissioner in the city of Gonaives said almost 500 bodies were found as flood waters receded.
He said a number of people were still missing and that the final figure could be even higher.
Earlier, officials said that at least 136 people had died as a result of the storm
Meanwhile, a ship carrying 33 tons of relief supplies from the United Nations docked in Gonaives, and the UN said it would launch an appeal for emergency funds to help up to 600,000 Haitians still in need of help.
The mayor of Gonaives, Jean Francois Adolphe appealed for help.
