(San Juan, Puerto Rico) Hurricane Ernesto According to the US Hurricane Center (NHC), it made landfall in the Bermuda archipelago.
More than 26,000 homes are without power, Belco, the power company in the British archipelago off the US east coast, said, or more than 70% of customers in the territory of 64,000 residents.
Classified as a Category 2 on the 5-point Saffir-Simpson scale, the hurricane could produce up to 225 mm of rain in some areas with sustained winds of 130 km/h.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, “this rain will cause flash flooding that could endanger the lives of many residents, especially in low-lying areas of the island”.
Due to the storm’s large size and slow movement, the hurricane’s strong winds are expected to continue through Saturday afternoon. Tropical storm force winds will continue through Sunday, the Bermuda government said.
As of 11:30 a.m. local time, the island was in the eye of the storm, according to the Bermuda Weather Service.
Photo by Nicola Muirhead, Reuters
Waves crash against rocks in hurricane winds Ernesto Approached Church Bay, Bermuda on 16 August.
Ernesto It is heading northeast at 15 km/h, but it should eventually avoid Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada, according to the most recent forecasts. The storm is expected to move near eastern Newfoundland and Labrador by Monday evening.
On Friday, some roads were closed and bus and ferry services suspended. LF Wade International Airport said it would remain closed until Sunday.
“This is not a storm,” National Defense Minister Michael Weekes warned Friday after a meeting, according to the Royal Gazette newspaper.
“Please take all necessary precautions to protect your life and property. Stay indoors and stay safe,” he added.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts, the hurricane season in the North Atlantic, from early June to late November, is expected to be particularly turbulent this year, especially due to warming oceans.
State of Alert in Bermuda
Bermuda electricity provider Belco had 31 percent of its customers without service Friday. He describes himself as being in an “active state of crisis.” “Our teams are no longer on the ground because it is no longer safe for them. These people will rest now until it is deemed safe for restoration efforts,” Belko said.
Public transport was suspended and the airport closed on Friday evening.
“Hurricane Ernesto “seriously threatens our society,” said National Security Minister Michael Weeks. “This is not a storm to be taken lightly. »
Bermuda is an archipelago of 181 small islands whose total mass is roughly the size of Manhattan.
According to AccuWeather, it is rare for a hurricane’s eye to surface in Bermuda. Since 1850, only 11 of the 130 tropical storms that have come within 100 miles of Bermuda have made landfall.
The island is a renowned maritime financial center with solid construction and, given its altitude, storm surge is not as problematic as low-lying islands.
Ernesto It has already hit the northeastern Caribbean, where it left hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power or water after crossing the US territory as a tropical storm.
More than 180,000 of the nearly 1.5 million customers were without power for more than two days after the storm. 170,000 people were without water as the National Weather Service issued a new severe heat advisory, warning of “dangerously hot and humid conditions.”
“It’s not easy,” said Andres Cabrera, 60, who lives in the coastal town of Carolina, which has no running water or electricity.
Like many on the island, he couldn’t afford a generator or solar panels. Officials hoped to have power restored to 90% of Puerto Rico’s nearly 1.5 million customers by Sunday, but could not say when power would be fully restored.
Neighboring US In the Virgin Islands, crews were working to restore power, but only 80% of customers had power back.
Ernesto Fifth named storm and third hurricane of the Atlantic season.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year due to warmer ocean temperatures. It predicts 17 to 25 named storms, including four to seven major hurricanes.
