Hurricane Cristobal winds reach 75 mph

Hurricane Cristobal strengthened further Tuesday morning, with its sustained winds reaching 75 mphs as it heads toward Bermuda.

The National Hurricane Center predicted Tuesday that Cristobal would pass to the northwest of Bermuda Wednesday. It was 590 miles southwest of the British territory, when the Hurricane Center released its 8 a.m. update.

{mosads}The hurricane has been blamed for at least five deaths, The Associated Press reported. It flooded some Caribbean islands and stopped flights in Turks and Caicos, where 12 inches of rain had fallen since Friday.

Two men died in the Dominican Republican and two in Haiti, as they were caught in waterways flooded by Cristobal, the AP said. About 3,600 people were evacuated in the Dominican Republic over the weekend, but they had returned by Monday.

Cristobal’s hurricane-force winds are extending 45 miles from the center, while tropical-force winds are reaching 205 miles out.