MIAMI - Joaquin, an “extremely dangerous” Category Four hurricane, lashed the central Bahamas with 130 mile (215 kilometer) per hour winds early on Friday as jittery residents of the US east coast battened down, fearing they may be next.

Joaquin was “still pounding the central Bahamas” at 0600 GMT, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said about three hours after reporting that the storm was “meandering over the central Bahamas”. Big and slow-moving, Joaquin was expected to be over the northwestern Bahamas later in the day on Friday. Classified as an “extremely dangerous” Category Four storm, Joaquin is capable of inflicting death and destruction with sustained winds clocked at 130 miles per hour, according to the hurricane center.

Hurricane force winds extended up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) from its center and tropical force winds up to 185 miles outward. Classes were called off in the Bahamas, some flights were cancelled and cruise ships headed for the popular vacation destination were diverted elsewhere. Cuban officials issued a tropical storm warning for much of the south-eastern part of the island, meaning that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.

On its current path, Joaquin was likely to cause coastal flooding in the US mid-Atlantic region, forecasters said. Emergency preparations began as far north as New York, and officials in the Bahamas urged people to brace for up to 15 inches (37 centimeters) of rain. US President Barack Obama was briefed on the preparations, the White House said. Residents of the eastern US cleared grocery shelves of water, milk and other essentials before the storm’s arrival.