Miami - A tropical depression forming near the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and Honduras could develop into a tropical storm within the next day,

According to the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center, the storm started moving north and was expected to cross Cuba Thursday or Friday, having reached tropical storm strength. The island has been hit by two strong hurricanes already this hurricane season, suffering heavy damage.

Authorities issued a storm alert for the coast of Nicaragua. Late Wednesday, the storm was about 170 kilometres from the coast, moving at 6 kilometres per hour and packing top wind speeds of 55 kilometres per hour at its centre. (dpa)