Hurricane Ernesto strengthened to a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) as it headed toward Bermuda, threatening it with high winds, dangerous storm surge and flooding.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC), based in Miami, reported in its recent bulletin that Ernesto, which caused severe flooding and power outages in Puerto Rico, will reach Bermuda on Saturday, August 17.
The cyclone, a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale out of a total of 5, is located 415 kilometers (255 miles) south-southwest of Bermuda, which is under a hurricane warning.
Ernesto is moving toward the north-northeast near 13 mph (20 kph) on Friday. A faster northeastward motion is expected later this weekend.
On the forecast track, the center of Ernesto, which is expected to be a “major hurricane,” is expected to pass near or over Bermuda on Saturday, the 17th.
The NHC warned that a dangerous storm surge is expected to produce significant coastal flooding in Bermuda, accompanied by large and destructive waves.
These storm surges will reach the U.S. East Coast over the weekend. The resulting dangerous surf and rip currents will be life-threatening, the NHC said.
This is the third hurricane of the Atlantic basin hurricane season, which began on June 1 and has produced five tropical storms: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby and Ernesto.
Puerto Rico hopes to restore electricity service
This was stated on Friday, August 16, at a press conference by the president of LUMA Energy, Juan Saca, who stated that “the estimated time of global restoration,” after the passage between the night of last Tuesday the 14th and Wednesday the 15th of the then tropical storm Ernesto, is “conservatively, for Sunday the 18th in the morning.”
At the moment, and according to data published by LUMA on its website, at 12:15 (16:15 GMT), electricity service has been restored to 83% of its subscribers. 249,090 customers remain without electricity.
According to the statement, in about 36 hours they have restored service to some 500,000 subscribers of the more than 750,000 who were left in the dark last Wednesday, August 14.
“Our crews are working hard under difficult conditions to restore service and make critical repairs as quickly and safely as possible, especially in San Juan and Caguas and on the islands of Vieques and Culebra,” Saca said.
The president of LUMA explained that these areas suffered the greatest impacts during the passage of the storm.
According to Saca, the company’s technicians are expected to be able to restore 90% of the service by the evening of Friday 16th.
He indicated that Fallen trees, damaged insulators and Ernesto’s winds were the main causes of the power outage.
Saca, on the other hand, regretted a power outage on the night of Thursday 15th that affected some 70 thousand customers in the eastern part of the island due to a fallen cable on a transmission line.
Another 4,500 customers were also affected last night by a fire in the control cabinet of a switch at the Cerámica Substation in Carolina during the energization process.
“We are working on both incidents, which will be resolved today,” he said.
One of the many clients that still remains without electricity is the Municipal Hospital of Cayey (center), where the Integrated Cancer Medical Center of Puerto Rico operates, but which is currently working with an electric generator.
“We call on the regional management of LUMA Energy to urgently pay attention to the energization of this facility that not only serves the city of Cayey, but also neighboring towns,” said Cayey Mayor Rolando Ortiz in a statement.
For her part, Secretary of the Interior Noelia García told a radio station that LUMA Energy is seeking to recruit some 125 electrical technicians from the city of Orlando, Florida (USA) to help restore and reinforce the energy system.
This has generated some criticism for not prioritising local talent and seeking to recruit staff from outside the island.
In addition, Saca told the newspaper El Nuevo Día that LUMA needs an additional US$200 million through a tariff review.
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