As per Reuters, 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 85 mph (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 centered over Bermuda, an archipelago with a population of around 64,000 that lies more than 600 miles (970 km) off the South Carolina coast.
Ernesto was expected to slowly depart Bermuda on Saturday, moving north-northeast on a track that would take it near or east of Newfoundland on Monday night, the hurricane center said.
The storm was carrying a dangerous storm surge that was expected to produce significant coastal flooding in parts of Bermuda, while rainfall was forecast at up to 9 inches (225 mm), the center said.
