(Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Ernesto is bearing down on Bermuda with dangerous winds and drenching rains that are already flooding low-lying areas of the British territory.
Ernesto was about 180 miles (290 kilometers) south-southwest of Bermuda as of 3 p.m. local time, according to an advisory from the US National Hurricane Center. It had top wind speeds of 100 miles per hour, making it a Category 2 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
Some roads are closed, ferry services have been suspended and flights are being canceled. Government officials are warning people to brace for the arrival of battering winds starting Friday night. The storm is expected to pass just to the west of Bermuda midday Saturday, bringing as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain.
“It looks like it’s going to be pretty close to a direct hit,” John Feerick, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., said in an interview. “It’s a very potent, powerful storm.”
Still, Ernesto is expected to lose strength as it approaches the island. It’s passing through pockets of dry air, and the ocean waters are a little cooler as the system moves north. Both are sapping its power, said Feerick.
Bermuda Electric Light Co., the island’s electric utility, is warning customers to prepare for outages. The company has completed pre-storm checks and has distributed supplies across the island to support restoration efforts, it said in an update on its website.
Local officials are urging residents to prepare for hurricane-force winds.
“The storm is coming and it’s a real and credible threat,” Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s minister of national security, said in a briefing Thursday. “I urge you to act now. Time is running out.”
Some low-lying parts of the island are already inundated, and officials expect more flooding as the rains intensify.
“Ernesto is going to be a wet storm,” Michelle Pitcher, director of the Bermuda Weather Service, said at the briefing. “It is a rather large hurricane.”
(Updates with comments from meteorologist in fourth paragraph.)
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