Weather forecasters in the United States have put parts of Massachuttes on standby for hurricane Earl as it sweeps north in the Carribean. The national hurricane centre in Miami says the storm has become more severe with winds of more than 200 kms. an hour. Evacuations have begun in areas of the US East Coast likely to be hit by Hurricane Earl.President Barack Obama said officials needed to be ready for a worst case scenario in a call to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency.