Hurricane Imelda barrels towards holiday paradise with 100mph winds and flooding | World | News

Hurricane Imelda is barrelling towards Bermuda as a Category 2 storm, with forecasters warning of potentially devastating weather for the British territory. The US National Weather Service in Miami said in its 11pm Wednesday update: “Imelda’s core is now moving over Bermuda, where hurricane-force winds, huge waves and flash flooding are expected into the morning.”

According to the hurricane centre, the storm was located about 20 miles (30 kilometres) southwest of Bermuda. It had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) and moved east-northeast at 29 mph (46 kph). A hurricane warning was in effect for Bermuda, a wealthy overseas territory whose solid infrastructure has previously endured severe storms. Forecasters at the centre said: “Imelda is expected to drop between two and four inches (five to 10 centimetres) of rain across the island and produce a dangerous storm surge that could unleash coastal flooding.”

Hundreds of homes had already lost power before the worst conditions set in.

Public schools, government offices and Bermuda’s international airport were shut on Wednesday as the territory, which has a population of 64,000, deployed 100 soldiers to safeguard infrastructure, clear roads and assist in emergency shelters.

Bermuda’s national security minister Michael Weeks said: “This is a dangerous storm system that could bring destructive winds, heavy rainfall and serious coastal damage.”

Earlier in the week, Imelda lashed the northern Caribbean, causing severe flooding in eastern Cuba, where two people were killed.

Officials in Guantanamo province said: “More than 18,000 residents were evacuated, while flooding and landslides in Santiago de Cuba cut off 17 communities with over 24,000 people.”

By Wednesday, more than 3,500 people remained in shelters in Guantánamo, while crews worked to repair damaged bridges and roads.

Authorities in Haiti said: “One person is missing and two others were injured following heavy flooding in the country’s southwest and northwest regions.”

Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto, which had been moving just ahead of Imelda, dissipated on Wednesday after passing west of Bermuda a day earlier. UK forecasters said: “Its remnants have been named Storm Amy and will bring severe weather to Ireland and Britain from Friday.”

Imelda and the remains of Humberto were stirring up treacherous surf and deadly rip currents along coastlines from the northern Caribbean and the Bahamas to Bermuda and the eastern United States.

The US National Park Service said: “At least five empty houses collapsed into the sea along North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Tuesday — the latest in a series of beachfront properties to succumb to erosion in recent years.”

According to private forecaster Accuweather, this year marks the first Atlantic hurricane season in a decade without a hurricane making US landfall by the end of September.

AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said: “This hurricane season is unusual, with several near-misses for the United States.”

So far, only Tropical Storm Chantal has made landfall in the US this year.

DaSilva explained: “Humberto pulled Imelda away from the American coast through the Fujiwhara Effect — a rare phenomenon where two nearby storms begin rotating around each other.”

Hurricane specialist Michael Lowry said: “Earlier this week, Humberto and Imelda were just 467 miles (751 kilometres) apart — the closest two Atlantic hurricanes have been recorded since 1853.”

Despite the season edging towards its end, DaSilva urged the public to remain alert: “We expect conditions that could support tropical storms and hurricanes into late October and November this year.”

Imelda strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday, becoming the fourth of the Atlantic season.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said: “We predict an above-average season with 13 to 18 named storms. Of those, five to nine are expected to become hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes with winds of at least 111mph (178kph).”

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.