Hurricane Ernesto is heading toward Bermuda after passing Puerto Rico, where it left more than half of the homes and businesses without power.
With wind gusts of 100 miles per hour (155 kilometers per hour), Ernesto has now strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest bulletin at 03:00 GMT on Friday.
It warns that Ernesto “could attain major hurricane strength on Friday” and is expected to pass near or over Bermuda on Saturday.
A dangerous storm surge with “large and destructive waves” and significant coastal flooding is expected, the NHC adds.
Bermuda is a British territory consisting of 181 islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
Meteorologists had previously warned that climate change could increase the intensity of storms like this one.
Ernesto swept past Puerto Rico on Thursday evening, the NHC reported.
Puerto Rico’s main electricity supplier, Luma Energy, reported that around 410,000 customers had no access to electricity by Thursday afternoon, according to Reuters news agency.
Juan Saca, president and CEO of Luma, said more than 1,500 employees were on site to “restore service” and restore power.
“We need to assess what needs to be done to solve the problem,” he said.
Puerto Rico’s power grid has been crippled by hurricanes before. When Hurricane Fiona hit the island in 2022, about 80% of homes and businesses were without power for nearly a month.
Ernesto is the fifth named Atlantic storm this season.
Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Category 5 storm ever recorded in the Atlantic when it ripped through the Caribbean and Texas Gulf Coast last month, killing dozens of people and leaving millions without power.
Earlier this year, the US weather agency NOAA warned that there could be up to seven major hurricanes of category three or more in the North Atlantic this year, which would be more than twice the usual number.
While there is no evidence that climate change is causing more hurricanes, it is making the strongest hurricanes more likely and bringing heavier rainfall.
