Felix started as a tropical storm two days ago, but quickly upgraded to a powerful category two hurricane that threatens to cause massive damage on the Caribbean islands standing in its path, the US National Hurricane Centre said Sunday.

A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch are in effect for the Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao islands located off the coast of Venezuela, while a tropical storm watch was issued for Jamaica.

The second hurricane of the Atlantic season had winds of up to 100 mph (160 kilometers per hour) early Sunday and was last located about 45 miles northeast of Bonaire and 145 miles east of Aruba, specialists saying it is heading west at 18 mph.

On Saturday, Felix brought massive rainfall and strong winds in Grenada as a tropical storm. Power lines were toppled, radio and TV stations went offline for a short period and two houses were left without their roofs by the raging wind.

Several boats came loose from their quay after rough waves battered the ports and disrupted activity. No casualties were reported.

Thunderstorms and powerful winds were also reported in Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago. The storm caused flash floods, landslides and downed dozens of trees.

Experts from the US National Hurricane Centre said Felix will pass Honduras and Jamaica before lashing out at Belize by the middle of the week, when it will upgrade to the third category on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

In other developments, Tropical Storm Henriette continues to inflict damage in the coastal areas of Mexico. Three persons were killed when a rock dislodged by torrents crushed a home in Acapulco, while three more people died when their house was swept by a mudslide in the same town.

Authorities said Henriette moved out to sea with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and is expected to become a hurricane on Sunday.

The fierce storms are sweeping the region just two weeks after Hurricane Dean killed 18 people on its way across the Caribbean and provoked massive damage.