Atlantic island territory, which has seen fewer than a dozen hurricanes since 1850, braces for dangerous storm surge
Hurricane Ernesto bore down on Bermuda on Friday as a category 2 storm, threatening the British island territory with strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and potentially deadly flooding.
Ernesto, centered about 95 miles (150km) south-southwest of the archipelago at 8pm Atlantic Standard Time (0000 GMT on Saturday), was producing sustained winds of up to 100mph (155km/h) and had the potential to drop up to 9in (230mm) of rain, the US National Hurricane Center said.
The center of Ernesto is expected to pass near or over Bermuda on Saturday morning, making conditions ripe for storm surges and flash flooding by the afternoon.
“Folks, be under no illusion. This storm is the real deal,” said Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s national security minister, at a press conference on Friday.
He warned Bermudians to brace for 36 hours of hurricane- and tropical storm-force winds starting on Friday afternoon.
