Hurricane Ernesto pounds Bermuda as it moves slowly away By Reuters

By Jasmine Patterson and Nicola Muirhead

BERMUDA (Reuters) -Hurricane Ernesto pounded Bermuda on Saturday with powerful winds and 35-foot (10-meter) waves while drenching the British island territory with rain that could produce deadly flooding.

Power was out for more than 70% of the territory’s 36,000 customers.

The eye of the storm passed over the west end of the archipelago early Saturday as it moved toward the north-northeast and as of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) it was 50 miles (75 km) away from Bermuda, the U.S. National Weather Service said.

With hurricane-force winds extending 70 miles (110 km) from the center and tropical storm-force winds emanating 240 miles (390 km), Bermuda was expected to endure several more hours of punishment as the storm crawled north at just 9 mph (15 kph).

People in Bermuda reported a temporary calm as the eye of the storm passed overhead.

But surrounding the eye were maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph). It was expected to maintain its current intensity for another 48 hours, after which it should weaken, the U.S. weather service said.

The Bermuda Weather Service reported high seas that likely reached 35 feet toward the south and east of the island, and that 5.5 inches (140 mm) of rain had fallen in the past 24 hours.

The U.S. weather service predicted up to 9 inches (225 mm) of rain could fall, producing flash-flood conditions, while a dangerous storm surge was expected to produce significant coastal flooding across much of the archipelago with a population of around 64,000 that lies more than 600 miles (966 km) off the South Carolina coast.

The center of the storm is forecast to continue moving away from Bermuda on Saturday and approach southeastern Newfoundland late on Monday, the U.S. weather service said.

Electric utility BELCO said the storm caused near island-wide outages, with about 26,100 out of roughly 36,000 customers without power at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT).

Dangerous wind conditions are expected to subside in the afternoon, when crews could start assessing the power grid for damage, BELCO said.

OCEAN SWELLS

Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s national security minister, said the government had received numerous reports of people venturing out in the storm, and he urged them to stay indoors.

“We have gone through the eye of Hurricane Ernesto, and now the weather is deteriorating again,” he told reporters.

BELCO President Wayne Caines also cautioned residents not to be “lulled into a false sense of security.”

“Reports are coming in about downed poles and power lines, which are extremely dangerous,” Caines said. “It’s critical that people avoid these areas and refrain from being on the roads.”

Ocean swells generated by Ernesto were affecting the U.S., the Florida-based National Hurricane Center said.

In New York, the city parks and the National Park Service announced that all beaches in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens would be closed to swimmers on Saturday and Sunday with the National Weather Service predicting dangerous rip currents and swells of up to 6 feet, the mayor’s office said.