HAMILTON, Bermuda, Aug. 15, CMC – The authorities on this British overseas territory are now bracing for Hurricane Ernesto that is churning in the western Atlantic and threatens to intensify into a major hurricane before reaching the island.
In its 5pm (local time) update, the Miami based National Hurricane Centre said that Ernesto, now a Category 1 hurricane, was located 495 miles south-southwest of Bermuda with sustained winds of 85 mph.
Moving at 13 mph, the storm is expected to begin dumping heavy rain over Bermuda on Friday before passing near or over the archipelago Saturday.
“Conditions in Bermuda expected to deteriorate beginning Friday afternoon,” said the center, adding that hurricane effects will likely be felt by Saturday. Some parts of Bermuda could see up to 15 inches of rain, which may cause “considerable life-threatening flash flooding,” the NHC said.
Forecasters say Ernesto could become a major hurricane with sustained winds of at least 111 mph as early as Friday.
In the capital,Hamilton, several services are scheduled to close early Friday.
A spokeswoman told the Royal Gazette that the city’s public restrooms will close at 11am (local time) and its offices at City Hall and Laffan Street, as well as the Bermuda National Gallery and the Bermuda Society of Arts, will shut their doors at midday.
The offices will reopen at 9.30am on Monday or when it is considered safe to do so.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were recovering from the storm’s impact on Wednesday.
At its peak, half of Puerto Rico’s utility customers – as many as 730,000 – were in the dark.
As of Thursday evening, approximately 335,000 homes and businesses, nearly 23% of customers, were still without power..
Flood warnings also remained in effect across Puerto Rico as rivers continued to crest and threaten neighborhoods and low-lying areas.
Over the last 48 hours, the United States and British Virgin Islands received half-a-foot of rain.
Ernesto developed just days after Debby finished its move along the U.S. East Coast, where it left at least eight people dead, including children, as a Category 1 hurricane-turned-tropical storm.
CMC/br/kb/2024