Hurricane Ernesto Batters Bermuda Leaving Thousands in the Dark
Hurricane Ernesto made landfall in Bermuda early Saturday morning, accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds, causing widespread power outages across the Atlantic archipelago. Meteorologists warned of significant wave action and flooding.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center reported that the hurricane, which had already brought heavy rain to Puerto Rico earlier in the week, was packing winds of 137 km/h.
The center warned of “widespread coastal flooding and dangerous surf along the coast.”
Categorized as a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the hurricane is expected to drop up to 225 millimeters of rain in some parts of the archipelago, located more than 1,000 kilometers east of the U.S. mainland.
The storm knocked out power to nearly 26,000 customers, according to the electricity company Belco, representing more than 70% of the company’s customers on the island, which has a population of 64,000.
