(Reuters) – Hurricane Ernesto was on track to slam Bermuda on Saturday morning, pummeling the British island territory with dangerous storm surges, flash flooding, strong winds and up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rainfall over the weekend.
Bermuda, with a population of 64,000 spread over dozens of small islands, has a long history with storms in the Atlantic. Tropical cyclones bring stormy weather every year and a particularly damaging event once every six or seven years.
Hurricanes have rarely made landfall on Bermuda – meaning the eye of the storm passed directly over the islands – because of its small size. Only 11 storms have done so since records began in 1851.
Here are the most significant hurricanes to have hit Bermuda in recent times:
FABIAN, 2003
The Category 4 hurricane did not make landfall on Bermuda, but its eastern eyewall struck the islands as a Category 3 storm, causing the most devastation in recent memory. With wind speeds over 120 mph (193 kph) and waves that reached 20 to 30 feet (6-9 m) high, the storm left Bermuda with $300 million in property damage. Four people died when their cars were swept off a causeway due to a storm surge, the first deaths on the island caused by a hurricane since 1926.
FAY AND GONZALO, 2014
In 2014, two hurricanes – Fay and Gonzalo – made landfall on Bermuda within six days. It was the first time the territory experienced two landfalls in a single season since records began. As residents were cleaning up after Category 1 Fay, Gonzalo hit as a Category 2 hurricane soon after being downgraded from Category 4. The storms cost the islands between $200 million-$400 million in damage.
NICOLE, 2016
Nicole hit the islands as a Category 2 hurricane after it had weakened from a Category 4. Wind gusts up to 119 mph (192 kph) toppled trees and power lines, cutting electricity to 90% of the island’s customers. Nicole was one of Bermuda’s wettest storms on record with 6.77 inches (17.2 cm) of rainfall, second only to an unnamed 1939 hurricane that dropped 7.35 inches (18.67 cm) on the islands.
(Reporting by Liya Cui; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
