Hurricane Florence advanced toward Bermuda as residents made last-minute preparations for the storm that was expected to pass near the island yesterday.
After gaining hurricane status on Sunday, the storm's maximum sustained winds reached 150kph, easily making it a Category 1 hurricane, the least powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Forecasters predicted Florence could intensify to Category 2 as it passed Bermuda yesterday morning. Category 2 hurricanes have top sustained winds of at least 154 kph and are capable of moderate damage.
At 2am, Florence, the second hurricane of the this year's Atlantic season, was 175km southwest of Bermuda and moving north at 19kph.
The storm's center was likely to pass near or just west of the British territory in the Atlantic yesterday morning.
"Large and dangerous battering waves are likely along the coast of Bermuda as Florence passes near the island," an advisory issued by the hurricane center said.
Some hotels prepared "hurricane parties" for tourists and officials urged islanders to take shelter at home, saying the storm could test the resilience of the wealthy British enclave.
The hurricane was expected to stay away from the North American mainland, but was creating risky surf along parts of the eastern US and the Canada, according to forecasters.
Florence's approach prompted Bermuda's government to issue a hurricane warning, telling the 35km-long island's 63,000 residents they should rush to complete preparations.
Bermuda could experience 2m to 2.5m storm surges and 13cm to 20cm of rain as Florence passes, forecasters said. Its South Shore beaches were already taking a severe pounding.
Government leaders called up 200 troops from the Bermuda Regiment and placed 250 more on standby for possible deployment after the storm. A shelter opened on Sunday, but most Bermudans were expected to weather Florence at home.
Hundreds of emergency service workers on the resort and international finance center were placed on standby.
Tourists had been issued emergency instructions, Police Commissioner Roseanda Young said. Guests at one low-lying hotel left for another on higher ground.
Acting Premier Ewart Brown said Bermuda was no stranger to hurricanes after Hurricane Emily nearly 20 years ago and 2003's Hurricane Fabian, which killed four and did about US$500 million damage.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of