By Jasmine Patterson and Nicola Muirhead
BERMUDA (Reuters) – Hurricane Ernesto knocked out power, uprooted trees and flooded parts of Bermuda on Saturday, but the British island appeared to have suffered no serious injuries or property damage, officials said after an initial assessment.
The Category 1 storm brought strong winds and waves as high as 35 feet (10 meters), knocking out power to 74 percent of the region’s 36,000 customers, officials said.
“I am pleased to report that there have been no calls for service for any major incidents or damage to any property, and the calls we have received over the last six hours or so are primarily related to flooding,” Risk Management Officer Lyndon Raynor said in a government video update.
About 5.9 inches (150 mm) of rain has fallen, with more expected at the end of the storm, Bermuda Meteorological Service Director Michelle Pitcher said in the video.
The National Weather Service said the hurricane was moving north-northeast. By 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), it had moved 60 miles (95 km) across Bermuda, which is 1,000 miles (1,000 km) off the coast of the Carolinas, and was expected to continue moving away on Saturday.
The center of the storm is expected to approach southeast of Newfoundland, Canada late Monday, the U.S. National Weather Service said.
The National Weather Service said maximum sustained winds remained at 80 mph (130 kph) and were expected to remain at that speed for another 48 hours, after which they were expected to weaken.
Bermuda, an archipelago of about 64,000 people, got about three hours of respite when Ernesto’s eye passed over the island early Saturday morning, but heavy rain and winds resumed.
Winds are expected to weaken by Saturday afternoon, Beecher said.
“I think this gives us some comfort that we are nearing the end of Hurricane Ernesto but we are not there yet,” Bermuda’s National Security Minister Michael Weeks added.
Electric utility Belco said the storm caused power outages across nearly the entire island, with about 26,600 customers without power as of Saturday afternoon.
The ocean waves created by Ernesto were affecting the United States.
In New York City, beaches in Brooklyn and Queens were closed to swimmers Saturday and Sunday amid expectations of dangerous currents and waves as high as 6 feet, according to the mayor’s office.