ORANJESTAD, Aruba—"Matthew" is now at hurricane strength Thursday as it moved toward the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao in the Southern Caribbean.
The so-called "ABC islands" of the Dutch Caribbean are outside the hurricane belt and are usually spared from tropical storms, making Matthew a rare event for the area. A tropical storm watch was in effect for all three places.
The Aruba weather service said the storm was expected to pass about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of the island.