Hurricane Maria strengthened to a "major" Category Three storm on Monday as it bore down on Caribbean islands still recovering from megastorm Irma.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Maria was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kilometers per hour).

Hurricane warnings were issued for Guadeloupe, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique, St Lucia, and the US and British Virgin Islands.