Hurricane Gonzalo already major storm, could gain more strength on way toward Bermuda

A surfer carries his surfboard as he walks along La Pared Beach in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. Hurricane Gonzalo moved away from the area, but churned up heavy surf across much of the Caribbean, Tuesday. Forecasters said it could pick up strength and become a major storm as it approaches Bermuda. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo) (The Associated Press)

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This NOAA satellite image taken Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014 at 10:45 a.m. EDT, shows Hurricane Gonzalo just north of Grand Turk Island. Gonzalo right now is currently a Cat 2 hurricane with sustained winds at 110 MPH. The storm is moving Northwest at 13 MPH. The storm is expected to maintain strength and give Bermuda a direct hit. The rest of island region is experiencing clear skies with isolated areas of fair weather clouds. Its possible of a thunderstorm within the outer bands of Ganzalo. (AP Photo/Weather Underground) (The Associated Press)

This image provided by NOAA Wednesday Oct. 15, 2014 shows Hurricane Gonzalo, lower right, which forecasters said could become a powerful category 4 storm Wednesday as it heads toward Bermuda. The storm had top sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) and was centered about 665 miles (1,075 kilometers) south of Bermuda early Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph). (AP Photo/NOAA) (The Associated Press)

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Hurricane Gonzalo gathered strength moving over open water away from the eastern end of the Caribbean, and forecasters said it could become a powerful category 4 storm Wednesday as it headed toward Bermuda.

Authorities on some of the smaller islands buffeted by Gonzalo said at least one person was dead and two were missing. Dozens of boats were damaged and power was knocked out in the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten.

The storm had top sustained winds of nearly 125 mph (205 kph) and was centered about 705 miles (1,135 kilometers) south of Bermuda late Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

The center said Gonzalo could become a category 4 hurricane during the day while it takes a path that would take it near Bermuda on Friday. Category 4 storms have sustained winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) with the potential to cause catastrophic damage.

"Folks in Bermuda are going to need to start paying attention to this thing," Dennis Feltgen, a National Hurricane Center meteorologist, said by phone.

Bermuda's government posted a hurricane watch for the British territory, urging islanders to keep an eye on the storm's progress.

Officials said flights departing Bermuda on Thursday, Friday and Saturday were fully booked.

Gonzalo was blamed for the death of an unidentified elderly man who was aboard a boat in St. Maarten's Simpson Bay Lagoon, which looked like a ship graveyard Tuesday with several masts protruding from the water. Acting Coast Guard Director Wendell Thode said 22 of the 37 boats destroyed by the storm were in the lagoon.

"Most of the boats that are destroyed are completely under water," he said.

Authorities were searching for a man last seen on a dinghy near the French Caribbean territory of St. Martin and another man last seen standing close to a harbor in St. Barts, said Matthieu Doligez, general secretary of the prefecture in St. Martin.

Amy Arrindell, vice president of the St. Maarten Zoological and Botanical Foundation, said the St. Maarten Zoo was heavily damaged but no animals escaped or died. She said trees were uprooted, the petting zoo was destroyed and the animals' enclosures were flooded.

"There is major damage to the structure," she said. "It is total devastation."

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Associated Press writer Judy Fitzpatrick reported this story in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, and Danica Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Reporter Josh Ball in Hamilton, Bermuda, contributed to this report.

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Danica Coto on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danicacoto