Hurricane Ernesto is moving away from Puerto Rico, where schools and offices were closed on Wednesday, while the Caribbean island was battered by rain and flooding.
Ernesto was scheduled to move north of the U.S., but officials are still expecting widespread disruptions, power outages and heavy rainfall. The Puerto Rican government said 344 shelters were in place and public transportation was suspended.
This is the third hurricane of this year’s hurricane season.
The National Hurricane Center reported Wednesday that the storm had sustained winds of 75 mph. It warned that “significant” flooding was expected across Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
By Wednesday afternoon, it had started to move off the island, but it remained under a flash flood watch until Thursday. The island had already received 5 to 10 inches of rain by 2 p.m., with more expected until the typhoon clears the area.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluzzi urged people to stay indoors by Tuesday evening as forecasts warned of up to 10 inches of rain in the island’s southeast and possible landslides and widespread flooding.
Officials expected widespread outages because the island’s power system had not fully recovered from the devastation of 2017’s Hurricane Maria. More than 740,000 people were without power as of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. Puerto Rico Emergency Portal System.
“I hope it goes away soon,” Jose Rodriguez, a 36-year-old food business owner, told The Associated Press.
“We are specifically warning tourists and our own people to stay out of the ocean. Ocean conditions will be very dangerous, especially in the north and east of Puerto Rico,” the governor said.
A hurricane watch is in place for the British Virgin Islands, while a tropical storm watch is in effect for the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vic and Culebra – all popular with tourists.
The hurricane is expected to approach Bermuda on Saturday and may strengthen over the next two days before making landfall, the NHC said. Rain from the storm system could hit Bermuda early Thursday.
Dramatic video Social media captured the moment sailors were rescued from a trawler stranded on the island of Sint Maarten after it was battered by high winds and heavy rain on Tuesday.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm in what is already a very busy hurricane season.
