Florence Strengthens Into a Hurricane
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sep 10, 2:34 AM EDT
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Florence Strengthens Into a Hurricane*
By ELIZABETH ROBERTS
Associated Press Writer
HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) -- Florence intensified into a hurricane early
Sunday and it headed for Bermuda, where residents installed storm
shutters and hauled their yachts onto beaches.
Florence was expected to reach the tiny British territory Monday,
according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. But it was too
early to tell whether it will make a direct hit.
The storm became a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of
75 mph early Sunday and was expected to strengthen further during the
day, the hurricane center said.
Bermuda issued a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning, and the
government urged its 65,000 residents to take precautions. Part of the
North Atlantic island's volunteer army has been mobilized.
"We are asking residents to please stay home. We are urging the public's
cooperation so that emergency vehicles will have free passage on the
roads," Derrick Burgess, minister of public safety, said at a news
conference. "Also, we are discouraging the public from sightseeing as
this puts everyone at risk."
He also encouraged the public to stock up on hurricane supplies and
secure their homes, lawn furniture and any other loose items which could
be affected by high winds.
In boatyards and marinas in Bermuda - a wealthy island chain 640 miles
east of the U.S. coast - boat owners dragged their yachts onto beaches
or secured their moorings.
At Pitts Bay marina, Bermudian Alan Hughes moved his 17-foot Boston
Whaler away from the dock wall and tied it down.
"We are obviously concerned and cautious. It will be a tidal issue, with
up to five or six foot tidal swells," he said.
At the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, the hotel distributed a disaster plan
- which included provisions for evacuation - and told guests that patio
furniture would be removed from their rooms.
Roy Riggio, a 72-year-old volunteer counselor with Medicare from New
Canaan, Conn., said he and his wife, Barbara, arrived in Bermuda on Friday.
As other guests at the Fairmont were leaving, Riggio said he didn't
believe the hurricane would deter him and his wife and he wanted a
"window seat" at the hotel's restaurant on Sunday night to watch the storm.
"If not, I'm going to take pictures from my room - I have a room up at
the top of the hotel - and I want to get some photos. I'm not a glutton
for punishment, but it's exciting," he said.
Authorities said they were closing the island's only airport, Bermuda
International Airport. Flights from New York and Miami scheduled to
arrive late Saturday have been canceled.
Ferries stopped running Saturday afternoon and bus service was to end
Sunday at 1 p.m.. Authorities have opened a shelter in the island's
center, and the public utility has warned there may be power outages due
to the high winds.
Public schools and government offices will be closed Monday.
Acting Police Commissioner Roseanda Young said arrangements have been
made for tourists to leave after the airport shuts down, with commercial
airlines and private jets helping out.
"All tourists have been given the opportunity to leave. Those still here
have chosen to stay," she said.
The storm was expected to veer away from the U.S. coast as it turns
north toward Bermuda, but forecasters said its large size could also
create high surf and rip currents along parts of the eastern U.S. coast.
"Those waves will affect a good portion of the U.S. East Coast from
basically Florida all the way up to the Cape Cod area" starting Sunday
through the early part of next week, said Stacy Stewart, a senior
hurricane specialist at the hurricane center. "When those large swells
come rolling in to the coastline they tend to produce dangerous and
potentially deadly rip currents."
Large ocean swells were affecting Bermuda and the northern coasts of the
Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
the hurricane center said.
Tropical storm force wind extended up to 260 miles from the storm's
center. At 2 a.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 360 miles south of
Bermuda, moving northwest at 13 mph.
Bermuda requires newly built houses to withstand sustained winds of 110
mph . It also has a sturdy infrastructure with many of its power and
phone lines underground.
Hurricane Fabian killed four people when it struck in 2003 as the
strongest storm to hit Bermuda in 50 years. Fabian, a Category 3
hurricane with 120 mph winds, tore the roofs off several homes and left
many of Bermuda's famed golf courses in ruins.
Florence follows on the heels of Tropical Storm Ernesto, which was
briefly the season's first hurricane before weakening and drenching the
U.S. East Coast last week. The storm was blamed for nine deaths in the
United States and two in Haiti.
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On the Net:
U.S. National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov