Puerto Rico is still recovering after being hammered by Hurricane Maria two years ago
(NHC midday report says storm approaching Puerto Rico, adds quote from Puerto Rico governor)
Sept 24 (Reuters) - Residents of Puerto Rico were braced for potential flooding on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Karen barreled towards it and the smaller Virgin Islands nearby, packing powerful winds and torrential rainfall and threatening flash floods and mudslides.
Officials on the larger island, which is still recovering after being hammered by Hurricane Maria two years ago, urged residents to be ready to seek shelter if they live in homes likely to be flooded by the storm.
Karen's center was approaching Puerto Rico and was expected to pass near or over land on Tuesday afternoon before moving into the western Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a midday forecast update.
The storm, bringing 40-mile-per-hour (65 kph) winds, was expected to dump 2-4 inches of rain on the U.S. island territory with some areas getting more than 8 inches (20.3 cm), the NHC said.
Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced urged residents to use caution and stick to their family emergency plan.
"It's important that everyone determine if you live in a vulnerable area and if so you should go to a shelter," Garced said in a post on Twitter.
Earlier in the week, the storm brought floods and destroyed property in other Caribbean islands, including Trinidad and Tobago, according to video images that showed people using shovels to try and clear mud-covered roadways.
Flash-flood watches and warnings across Puerto Rico said its eastern and southern regions would be the hardest hit, especially the hills and mountainous areas, which faced the risk of serious mudslides and floods.
Karen, the 11th named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on Sunday afternoon east of the Lesser Antilles.
Puerto Rico, beset with financial woes and political turmoil, was spared a potential new disaster last month when Hurricane Dorian skirted past it before laying waste to the northern Bahamas.
Two years ago, Puerto Rico was still recovering from Hurricane Irma when it took a direct hit from Hurricane Maria. Some 3,000 people perished in that storm, the deadliest in the island's recorded history.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Dan Trotta and Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Bernadette Baum)
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