Hurricane Ernesto hits Bermuda as a weakened but still dangerous storm

17/8/2024 18:44

        Hurricane Ernesto made landfall on Bermuda early on Saturday and was expected to batter the British island territory with powerful winds, a dangerous storm surge and potentially deadly flooding.
        
        Ernesto was carrying top sustained winds of 140 kph the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, although it had weakened to a Category 1 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale as it approached.
        
        By 5 a.m. (0900 GMT), the storm was centred over Bermuda, an archipelago with a population of around 64,000 that lies more than 970 km off the South Carolina coast.
        
        Ernesto was expected to slowly depart Bermuda during Saturday, moving north-northeast on a track that would take it near or east of Newfoundland on Monday night, the hurricane center said.