Hurricane Ernesto leaves a quarter of Puerto Rico without power, heads for Bermuda via Reuters
By Brendan O'Brien and Liya Cui
(Reuters) – Hurricane Ernesto on Thursday made landfall near Bermuda where it promised to produce dangerous storm surge and heavy rains after leaving hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans without power.
The Category 1 hurricane was 915 kilometers southwest of Bermuda as it headed north, packing winds of 85 miles per hour early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.
Bermuda was under a hurricane warning as forecasters predicted Ernesto would approach the British territory late Friday. On Saturday, Ernesto will become a major storm near the island where it will produce long-term strong winds, severe flooding and dangerous storm surges, the agency said.
“Preparations to protect life and property must be rushed until they are completed,” said the typhoon center.
Ernesto became a hurricane on Wednesday, battering Puerto Rico with heavy rains and strong winds. Photos and video footage from the island showed floodwaters covering roads, downing power lines and destroying homes and cars.
As of early Thursday morning, about 410,000 homes and businesses – about a quarter of all customers in the US territory – remained without power, according to LUMA Energy, the Caribbean island's largest energy company. About half of Puerto Rico's customers were without power Wednesday.
Vanessa Toro, a San Juan resident who lost power at 4 a.m. Wednesday, said she is frustrated that she is still without power even though the storm has had little impact in her area.
“If the event was big, one would understand the situation a little bit, but this storm was not a disaster,” he said. “LUMA says it is ready to deal with these situations, but we don't have power for 29 hours after the storm.”
LUMA CEO Juan Saca said in a radio interview Thursday morning that he expects to restore power to most customers later Thursday.
Ernesto was expected to remain well west of the US East Coast as it moved north. However, the storm was forecast to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents across the region, the agency said.
Ernesto is the fifth named Atlantic hurricane in what is expected to be a strong hurricane season. Slow-moving Debby hit Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane last week before drenching parts of the Carolinas with up to 60 feet of rain.
Hurricane Beryl, the first of the season, became the first Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic when it battered the Caribbean and Texas Gulf Coast last month, killing dozens and costing an estimated $6 billion.
