Rare hurricane hits Cape Verde

An extremely rare hurricane, with winds of up to 130km/h (80mph) has hit the island nation of Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa.

The government has grounded all flights until further notice.

It is the furthest east a hurricane has ever been recorded in the Atlantic.

A hurricane warning has been issued by the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC), which predicts coastal flooding due to strong wind and heavy rains from Monday and overnight into Tuesday.

Cape Verde consists of 10 significant volcanic islands, nine of which are inhabited.

The hurricane is forecast to gradually weaken from Tuesday onwards.

Authorities have urged people to stay away from the sea.

An NHC update issued at 12:00 GMT said Hurricane Fred was centred about 55km (35 miles) south of Rabil in the Cape Verde Islands, and was moving north-west at nearly 19km/h (12mph).

The NHT has warned of flash flooding and mudslides as the storm moves across the islands.