Hurricane Ernesto nears Bermuda, whips up dangerous surf along East Coast beaches

Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on Tropical Storm Ernesto for Friday, Aug. 16 For the latest news on Ernesto, view USA TODAY's story on the storm for Saturday, Aug. 17.

Officials, residents and tourists in Bermuda hurried to finish preparations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ernesto, a Category 1 storm that left nearly a quarter-million people without power across Puerto Rico and will cause dangerous conditions along the eastern shore of the continental U.S.

Bermuda was under a hurricane warning Friday as Ernesto approached the island. It was located about 65 miles south-southwest of the British island territory with sustained winds of 90 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center's 11 p.m. ET advisory.

"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the center said.

Bermuda is expected to receive 6 to 9 inches of rain, which will likely cause life-threatening flash floods, and storm surge will produce significant coastal flooding as destructive waves push higher on shore. The center of Ernesto is forecast to pass near or over Bermuda Saturday morning, according to the center.

Residents across Bermuda spent recent days fortifying their homes, getting boats out of the ocean and stocking up on food, water and batteries, while officials announced plans to close the airport, main roads and public transportation services before the storm's worst conditions settle over the territory.

Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s minister of national security, urged residents at a Friday news conference to find shelter and stay indoors as the storm passes, warning, "We are about to endure at least 36 hours of hurricane and tropical storm force winds ... a significant time to be under such conditions that presents a considerable risk to life and property."

"Be under no illusion, this storm is the real deal," he said.

Hurricane Ernesto maps: track storm as it aims at Bermuda, causes riptides in US

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Developments:

? Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses remain without power and running water across Puerto Rico as a dangerous heat wave settles over the territory. As of Friday afternoon, approximately 243,361 utility customers reported outages, while temperatures were expected to reach into the mid-90s.

? Anticipating power outages, Bermuda's emergency radio station was slated to broadcast regular announcements starting at 8 p.m. Friday.

? As of 10 p.m. local time, Bermuda utility BELCO said more than 11,000 customers – about 30% – had lost power. The company added that it had called back its crews from the field due to safety concerns.

? Weather officials warned of dangerous surf and rip currents along the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. this weekend, a significant threat tied to multiple deaths during recent hurricanes. Surf and rip currents also are possible on the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas and Atlantic Canada during the next few days, the hurricane center said.

Ernesto sweeps away North Carolina beach house

A high risk of rip currents will remain along East Coast beaches through the weekend and possibly into early next week in the mid-Atlantic, National Weather Service offices warned Friday. Rough surf with waves of 4-7 feet also was expected.

“Beach goers should look for guard flags, heed the advice of beach patrol, and don't swim unless swimming is allowed,” said Michael Dutter, a weather service meteorologist in Wakefield, Virginia.

Hundreds of miles away from the center of Ernesto near Wilmington, North Carolina, lifeguards rescued at least 10 people from rip currents on Friday off Wrightsville Beach.

On the Outer Banks, the storm's hazardous swell uprooted an entire beach house and pulled it into the water Friday as local officials urged residents to stay out of the ocean, citing high tides and scattered debris.

Chicamacomico Banks Fire and Rescue in Rodanthe, North Carolina, posted a video on social media of the house drifting into the water. Photos also showed wooden planks, part of a staircase and other debris strewn across the sand.

The fire department warned that several other houses in Rodanthe were at risk of collapse over the next few days.

"We’re in for a rough weekend. Please heed warnings and do not enter the ocean," the department wrote.

American on vacation in Bermuda hunkers down ahead of Ernesto

Daisy Dohanos arrived in Bermuda from New York last week to housesit while her friend went on vacation in Vermont. What started as a relaxing sojourn turned on its head suddenly as she began preparing for Hurricane Ernesto.

The owner of the house hired people to install plywood over the windows and latch the shutters. Dohanos went into town and bought candles, batteries, ice and some canned food. She filled up the bathtub and took in the outdoor furniture – as her friend guided her over the phone.

“It’s been a fast education,” the 57-year-old said.

Dohanos, who runs a blog in which she writes about Bermuda, shut herself in the house on Friday, and plans to stay put through the storm with her friend’s three rescue dogs, Teddy, Jim and Coco.

“We're just gonna hunker down,” she said. “I'm just hoping they don't get frightened. I'm told that they're not scared of storms, so they might be the ones calming me down.”

Resident says Bermuda is in 'the calm before the storm'

Trina Graham and her family have been preparing for Hurricane Ernesto for the last several days. She secured the gas tanks that power her stove with cement blocks and put up heavy plastic material on her sliding door in case it’s hit by debris.

Graham, who lives in Hamilton Parish, in northern Bermuda, just a short walk from the ocean, said the water has been fairly still ahead of the storm but she’s prepared for it to pick up through the rest of Friday and all of Saturday.

“We have everything locked up,” she told USA TODAY. “It’s very cloudy but there’s not any serious wind yet. It’s … the calm before the storm.”

Bermudian prepares for Ernesto, remain optimistic about the storm

Ahead of Hurricane Ernesto's arrival, Heidi Cowen installed a cover on her chimney, brought out her numbered slabs of plywood and screwed them in over her doors and widows, where she has dozens of times before.

The 60-year-old tour guide said while residents are stocking up on food, taking their boats out of the water and securing their homes, there's "no big frenzy."

"As Bermudian, it's just a part of life, living on a rock in the middle of the Atlantic," she said. "We've been through a lot of bigger hurricanes, so while we're not taking it lightly, I think the overall feeling is that we're going to come out of this one OK."

Cowen, a fifth generation Bermudian, plans to hunker down in her home with her puppy and five cats. What she's dreading most of all is the likely loss of power, which will be made worse by the stifling summer heat. "It's going to be horrible without power – just one big, nasty, sweaty mess," she said.

Bermuda's airport, public transit to shut down ahead of storm

A slew of closures will go into effect Friday across Bermuda as authorities wrap up preparations before the territory begins experiencing Hurricane Ernesto's worst impacts.

On Friday afternoon, government offices were slated to close and bus services halted; ferry and lifeguard services were canceled on Thursday. On Friday evening, officials planned to close the causeway and the territory’s only airport, L.F. Wade International Airport.

Weeks, Bermuda’s minister of national security, urged residents at a Thursday news conference to complete hurricane preparations.

“Time is running out," he said. “Be mindful that this storm is coming and it’s a real and credible threat."

Record-breaking heat recorded in Puerto Rico amid power outages

For the hundreds of thousands without power across Puerto Rico, a dangerous heat wave is making conditions miserable and possibly life-threatening.

After the storm bore down on the territory and the Virgin Islands Wednesday, scorching temperatures moved in, bringing afternoon highs into the mid 90s with humidity pushing heat indexes even higher. Extreme heat is responsible for more deaths than any other weather-related hazard in the U.S.

On Thursday, afternoon temperatures at Luis Mu?oz Marín International Airport reached 95 degrees, breaking the previous daily record high of 94 degrees set in 1991.

The weather service urged people to find air conditioning, stay out of the sun and avoid leaving children or pets in unattended vehicles as cars could reach lethal temperatures in minutes. “A period of dangerously hot and humid conditions are expected,” the weather service in San Juan warned. “This level of heat affects individuals without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration.”

Where is Hurricane Ernesto?

Puerto Rico's power grid is notoriously fragile

In 2022, Hurricane Fiona knocked out power to about 80% of the island's homes and businesses for as long as a month. Five years earlier, Hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed the island's power grid and caused outages in some areas that lasted nearly a year.

Vanessa Toro, a San Juan resident who lost electricity early Wednesday, said she was frustrated to still be without power even though the storm itself had little impact on her area.

"If the event had been of a large magnitude, one understands the situation a little more, but this storm was not catastrophic," she said. "Then LUMA says it is prepared to deal with these situations, but we are without power 29 hours after the storm."

Fewer than a dozen hurricanes have made direct landfall on Bermuda, according to records dating to the 1850s.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Ernesto nears Bermuda, threatens East Coast beaches