SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The outer bands of Hurricane Humberto lashed Bermuda on Tuesday as it approached the tiny British territory, with newly formed Hurricane Imelda following closely behind.
A hurricane watch was in effect for the island located in the north Atlantic as forecasters warned of dangerous seas, strong winds and heavy rain.
Humberto was located about 275 miles (440 kilometers) west of Bermuda. The Category 2 storm had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) and was moving north-northwest at 17 mph (28 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Humberto was expected to pass well west and north of Bermuda on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, while Imelda was expected to pass near or over the island on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 2 hurricane, according to the Bermuda Weather Service.
Imelda was located about 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Great Abaco Island. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving northeast at 7 mph (11 kph).
Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s minister of national security, said the island faced “a serious week of weather.”
“I strongly urge the public to prepare,” he said.
Bermuda is a wealthy British territory with strong concrete structures capable of withstanding serious storms.
Humberto is expected to drop up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain on Bermuda and Imelda up to 4 inches (10 centimeters).
Imelda also is pelting the coastal area of southeast North Carolina with rain that forecasters say could lead to flash and urban flooding.
Meanwhile, Humberto was generating dangerous swells affecting the northern Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda and much of the U.S. East Coast.
“Both storms churning through the Atlantic are producing dangerous rip currents and rough surf. Beaches from Florida to New Jersey may have hazardous conditions through the weekend.” said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather, a private U.S. weather forecasting company.
Earlier this week, Imelda battered eastern Cuba, killing two people, according to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero.
He said on X that the two victims died in Santiago de Cuba province, but he didn’t give any details.
Earlier, state media reported that 60-year-old Luis Mario Pérez Coiterio died in Santiago de Cuba following landslides in that area.
Flooding and landslides cut off 17 communities in that province, affecting more than 24,000 people who live there, according to the official newspaper, Granma.
Meanwhile, more than 18,000 people were evacuated in the province of Guantánamo, according to reports from the state-run Caribe channel.
Imelda also flooded parts of the Bahamas on Monday, with New Providence hit hard. More than a dozen public schools on that island and on nearby Grand Bahama and Abaco remained closed on Tuesday.
“The aftermath is serious,” Prime Minister Philip Davis said. “Floodwaters remain.”
Imelda strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday, becoming the Atlantic season’s ninth named storm and the fourth hurricane this year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms. Of those, five to nine were forecast to become hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes, which pack winds of 111 mph or greater.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
