This photo released by the United Nations stabilization mission in Haiti shows a flooded area of Gonaives on Wednesday. (Marco Dormino/MINUSTAH/Associated Press)

Tropical storm Hanna was racing up the east coast of the United States on Saturday night on its way to bringing heavy rains to the Maritimes on Sunday.

The Atlantic Storm Prediction Centre has issued heavy rainfall warnings for southern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and northern and western Nova Scotia. It said 40 to 80 mm of rain is likely.

"It certainly looks like the greatest concern with the remnants of Hanna will be the rainfall," the Canadian Hurricane Centre said on Saturday, suggesting there could be some local flooding and road washouts.

The ground is already wet from a separate storm that hit some parts of the Maritimes on Saturday.

At 11 p.m. ET, Hanna was centred about 220 kilometres south of Providence, R.I., and moving toward the northeast at 48 km/h. It's expected to be over New England early Sunday and over the Maritimes by Sunday afternoon.

The storm is packing winds of 93 km/h with higher gusts. Gales are expected over Maritime waters south of the storm track on Sunday and will likely spread into Newfoundland waters Sunday night and early Monday, the hurricane centre said.

The winds are expected to bring wave heights near five metres in offshore regions by late Sunday.

Haiti hit hard by Hanna

In Haiti, there were conflicting reports about the number of deaths caused by Hanna as flood waters began to recede.

Police Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille said Saturday that a news report the previous evening that quoted him as saying 495 bodies had been found in Gonaives was completely wrong, the Associated Press reported.

Dorfeuille said there were 32 confirmed deaths in the city on Haiti's west coast. Earlier estimates put the number of dead at 137.

UN peacekeepers and aid workers were working to deliver high-energy biscuits and water to famished residents, many of whom had not eaten since Monday. At least 40,000 people remained in emergency shelters.

"What I saw in this city today is close to hell on earth," UN envoy Hedi Annabi said as he toured the region.

Hanna was moving quickly northward from the Carolinas at 39 km/h, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported Saturday morning. Media reports said it caused some local flooding.