Imelda descends on Bermuda as Category 2 hurricane with damaging wind and waves

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Imelda was descending on Bermuda late Wednesday as a Category 2 storm that forecasters warned was expected to bring potentially destructive weather to the British territory.

“Imelda’s core now moving over Bermuda where hurricane-force winds, damaging waves, and flash flooding expected into the morning,” the National Weather Service in Miami said in an 11 p.m. update.

Imelda was about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) while moving east-northeast at 29 mph (46 kph), the center said.

A hurricane warning remained in effect for Bermuda, a wealthy overseas territory with strong structures that have withstood powerful storms in previous years.

Imelda was expected to drop between 2 and 4 inches (5 and 10 centimeters) of rain across Bermuda and produce a dangerous storm surge that the hurricane center said could unleash coastal flooding. Hundreds of customers were without power ahead of the storm.

Bermuda closed its public schools, government offices and international airport Wednesday as it deployed 100 soldiers to secure infrastructure, clear roads and help at emergency shelters ahead of the storm.

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

Earlier in the week, Imelda battered the northern Caribbean. It unleashed widespread flooding in eastern Cuba, where two people died, and in Haiti where one person was missing and two others were injured.

Hurricane Humberto, which had been racing ahead of Imelda, dissipated Wednesday after passing west of Bermuda on Tuesday. Its remnants were named Storm Amy by U.K. forecasters, who warned it would affect much of Ireland and the U.K. starting on Friday.

Imelda and Humberto’s remnants were generating dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents affecting beaches along the north Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda and much of the U.S. East Coast.

While the Atlantic hurricane season is winding down, forecasters urged people to remain alert.

“We expect atmospheric conditions that could support tropical storms and hurricanes well into late October and November this year,” said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert.

Imelda reached hurricane strength Tuesday, becoming the Atlantic season’s fourth hurricane this year.

The U.S. 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 (178 kph) or greater.

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