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Hamilton (Bermuda) (AFP) – Gusts of 100 mph (160 km/h) and torrential rains hit Bermuda in the early hours of Friday, September 23, leaving thousands without power, when Hurricane Fiona, after wreaking havoc in the Caribbean, avoided this archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean.
Around 06:00 (09:00 GMT), the center of the hurricane was about 250 kilometers northwest of this British territory, according to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC), which downgraded Fiona from the category 4 to 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale in their latest newsletter.
During the night, several areas reported power outages, with more than 7,000 people affected, according to the main electricity company.
Schools are closed this Friday and the Government has announced the opening of an emergency accommodation center. Bus and ferry traffic has been suspended since Thursday night.
On Thursday, with hurricane warnings in effect and NHC forecasts for high winds, residents of Bermuda took shelter in their homes.
“This storm is going to be worse than the last one,” Richard Hartley, a business owner in the capital, Hamilton, told AFP as he attached metal plates to the windows of his shop with the help of his wife.
Fiona, which eventually skirted the island weakening, can cause gale-force winds more than 100 km from its center and some up to 210 km/h, according to the NHC.
In Bermuda, a very small archipelago of 64,000 inhabitants and 54 km2, the NHC had forecast heavy rains, up to 100 mm, and “major destructive waves”. The extent of the damage was unknown as of early Friday.
“live with this”
The territory, located 1,000 km from the United States and accustomed to hurricanes, is one of the most isolated places in the world, which makes any evacuation in an emergency almost impossible.
“You have to live with this because you live here, you can’t run away because it’s just a little island,” said JoeAnn Scott, who works in a Hamilton store.
We try to “enjoy it as it comes,” he said. “And pray and pray. That’s what we do, pray and celebrate,” she added with a laugh.
The main island took the preparations seriously.
Many of the boats moored at the clubs were pulled out of the water this week, and outdoor furniture, both in homes and restaurants, was taken under cover.
Homeland Security Minister Michael Weeks asked residents to stay home until given the green light. “Please don’t drive, don’t go out to take pictures, don’t be reckless,” he told a news conference.
store rainwater
Bermudians stocked food, candles, and buckets of water.
As the island does not have a source of fresh water, all the buildings have tanks to store rainwater, pumped to the houses by an electrical system. With possible power outages during storms, locals often fill their bathtubs or buckets ahead of time.
Fiona caused the death of four people in Puerto Rico, a US territory, according to an official quoted by the media. In addition, one deceased was reported in Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France, and two in the Dominican Republic.
In Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria five years ago, US President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency.
And Fema, the US federal disaster management agency, plans to send hundreds of additional staff members to the island, which has suffered massive power outages, landslides and flooding.
In the Dominican Republic, President Luis Abinader declared a state of natural disaster in three eastern provinces.
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