HAMILTON – National Security Minister, Michael Weeks, warned that he could not “overstate the seriousness” of the threat posed by Hurricane Imelda as it moves closer towards Bermuda on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (mph).
The hurricane is one of two storms being monitored by the authorities on this British Overseas Territory, with Hurricane Humberto, which is likely to merge with a frontal boundary on Wednesday night, is about 280 miles north, north west of the island with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.
Weeks said that while Hurricane Imelda is “the storm of greatest concern to us…I cannot overstate the seriousness of this threat”.
He said that Imelda was expected to bring sustained hurricane-force winds for four to six hours overnight on Wednesday into Thursday, saying “this, and I must stress, is not a passing squall.
“This is a dangerous storm system that could bring destructive winds, heavy rainfall and significant coastal impacts. Now is the time to act. Preparations for Humberto should well be under way and ideally already be complete,” he added.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Hurricane Imelda is expected to bring hurricane force winds, damaging waves and flash flooding to Bermuda on Wednesday.
It is now 395 miles west south west of Bermuda and that a hurricane warning is in effect for the island.
“Imelda is moving toward the east-northeast near 21 mph. A much faster east-northeast to northeast motion is expected over the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the core of the hurricane will be near Bermuda this afternoon or evening and move away from the island by Thursday afternoon,” the NHC said.
It said Imelda should strengthen and become a near category 2 storm when it passes close to Bermuda late Wednesday.
“Imelda is then expected to become an extratropical low in a couple of days, with gradual weakening thereafter,” it added.
With regards to Hurricane Humberto, the NHC said that it is moving toward the northeast near 14 mph and that a faster motion toward the east-northeast is expected today until the system merges with a developing frontal boundary tonight.
“Maximum sustained winds are near 80 mph with higher gusts. Slight weakening is possible today, but Humberto is expected to remain a powerful cyclone until it merges with a frontal boundary tonight,” the NHC added.
It said that swells from Humberto are likely to cause dangerous surf and life-threatening rip current conditions, affecting beaches of the northern Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, and much of the east coast of the United States over the next several days.
The Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO) says it has put in place a series of steps to reduce risk in the face of the hurricanes with the National Security Minister saying that all preparations for Hurricane Imelda must be finished by noon today.
The EMO said that among the measures is that the Causeway will close at 6.00 pm (local time) until further notice, that schools will be closed for the next two days with the government shelters operating from mid-afternoon.
“Imelda has the potential to damage and disrupt our island significantly. By preparing properly, we can limit the damage, protect lives and recover more quickly after the storm passes.
“So I say again, take this storm seriously,” Weeks added. (CMC)
