Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda charge toward Bermuda as the tiny island prepares

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The outer bands of Hurricane Humberto lashed Bermuda on Tuesday as it approached the tiny British territory, with newly formed Hurricane Imelda following closely behind.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the island located in the north Atlantic as forecasters warned of dangerous seas, strong winds and heavy rain.

Humberto was located about 300 miles (485 kilometers) west of Bermuda. The Category 1 storm had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and was moving north-northwest at 18 mph (30 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Humberto was a Category 4 storm on Monday, but was quickly losing strength and was forecast to dissipate by Wednesday.

Humberto was expected to pass well west and north of Bermuda on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, while Imelda was expected to pass near or over the island late Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane, according to the Bermuda Weather Service.

“I cannot overstate the seriousness of this threat,” Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s minister of national security, said of Imelda. “This is not, I must stress, a passing squall.”

He said Bermuda would endure sustained hurricane-force winds for up to six hours starting late Wednesday.

Weeks announced at a news conference that the island's international airport would close on Wednesday, as would schools and government offices.

He said residents should have all storm preparations completed by noon Wednesday.

“Imelda has the potential to damage and disrupt our island significantly,” he said.

Imelda was located about 735 miles (1,180 kilometers) west-southwest of Bermuda. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (120 kph) and was moving northeast at 7 mph (11 kph).

“The system is likely to be rather potent while it passes near Bermuda,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Bermuda is a wealthy British territory with strong concrete structures capable of withstanding serious storms.

Humberto is expected to drop up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain on Bermuda and Imelda up to 4 inches (10 centimeters).

Imelda is also pelting the coastal area of southeast North Carolina with rain that forecasters say could lead to flash and urban flooding.

Meanwhile, Humberto was generating dangerous swells affecting the northern Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda and much of the U.S. East Coast.

“Both storms churning through the Atlantic are producing dangerous rip currents and rough surf. Beaches from Florida to New Jersey may have hazardous conditions through the weekend.” said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather, a private U.S. weather forecasting company.

Earlier this week, Imelda battered eastern Cuba, killing two people, according to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero.

He said on X that the two victims died in Santiago de Cuba province, but did not give any details.

Earlier, state media reported that 60-year-old Luis Mario Pérez Coiterio died in Santiago de Cuba following landslides in that area.

Flooding and landslides cut off 17 communities in that province, affecting more than 24,000 people who live there, according to the official newspaper Granma.

Meanwhile, more than 18,000 people were evacuated in the province of Guantánamo, according to reports from the state-run Caribe channel.

In Haiti, authorities said that one person died and another remains missing after heavy rains from Imelda pelted the country's southwest coast, flooding more than 5,000 homes, according to Le Nouvelliste newspaper.

Imelda also flooded parts of the Bahamas on Monday, with New Providence hit hard. More than a dozen public schools on that island and on nearby Grand Bahama and Abaco remained closed on Tuesday.

“The aftermath is serious,” Prime Minister Philip Davis said. “Floodwaters remain.”

Imelda strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday, becoming the Atlantic season's fourth hurricane this year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms. Of those, five to nine were forecast to become hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes, which pack winds of 111 mph or greater.

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