Bush yesterday declared the U.S. Virgin Islandsa disaster area and a White House spokespersonsaid a similar declaration was expected soon forPuerto Rico, which suffered widespread damage.

The Coast Guard sent cutters to St. Thomas topick up personnel and their families whose homeswere destroyed. It also was evacuating 200American medical students at Montserrat, a Britishcolony where Hugo damaged nearly 90 percent of thehomes.

Federal relief shipments laden with suppliesand rescue workers from Florida, South Carolina,West Virginia and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, went toPuerto Rico, while British and French forceshelped Montserrat and Guadeloupe.

At 6 p.m. EDT, Hugo's center was 600 milessoutheast of Savannah, Ga. Its coordinates were27.0 north latitude and 73.0 west longitude and itwas moving northwest at 17 mph, up from 12 mphearlier in the day.

Little strengthening was expected for Hugo,whose wind speed had at one time dropped to 105mph.

"Even at 105 mph it can do quite a bit ofdamage," said Bob Sheets, director of the NationalHurricane Center.

Forecasters said Hugo's path made residentsfrom Savannah, Ga., to Charleston, S.C., mostlikely to be in harm's way, but they were delayingissuing hurricane warnings until they could makebetter projections.

Officials said coastal residents seemed to betaking the right steps, such as storing emergencysupplies and buying materials for boarding up.

"I see a lot of people buying water and cannedgoods like pork and beans. It's been prettysteady," said Bryan Raleigh, manager of the MarketStreet Food Lion in Wilmington, N.C., where nearbyCarolina Beach suffered $90 million in damageswhen hit by Hurricane Diana in 1984.

The Navy sent its Charleston-based ships to seato avoid Hugo, while crews were called yesterdayto their ships at Mayport Naval Station nearJacksonville for a possible move out.

"Like the Boy Scouts, we're prepared," saidChief Petty Officer Art Riccio