Hurricane Batters Northeast Islands

Hurricane Lenny stalled off St. Martin after battering the Dutch, French and British islands of the northeastern Caribbean and leaving a trail of debris and confusion in its wake. The late-season storm swept the islands with 120-mph winds, raging seas and torrential rains. At least four people from Colombia to St. Martin died in the onslaught. The storm was expected to start a slow move to the northeast, hammering the Dutch island of Saba, French St. Bart’s and Anguilla, a British territory, according to Robert Molleda, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane was not expected to strike the U.S. mainland but could generate surf capable of eroding beaches, forecasters said.