Ernesto exits Bermuda as downgraded to tropical storm; Ampil veers away from Japan

Ernesto exits Bermuda as downgraded to tropical storm; Ampil veers away from Japan
by AFP Staff Writers
Miami (AFP) Aug 18, 2024

Hurricane Ernesto was downgraded to a tropical storm Saturday after it lashed Bermuda with heavy rains and strong winds, leaving much of the British Atlantic Ocean territory without power before continuing on its path toward eastern Canada.

The hurricane, which hit Puerto Rico earlier this week, "will move away from Bermuda" Saturday night but would still create tropical storm conditions, according to the US-based National Hurricane Center.

It warned that it was possible for the storm to intensify on Sunday "and Ernesto could regain hurricane status."

It made landfall in Bermuda at 5:30 am local time (0830 GMT) packing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles (137 kilometers) per hour, the NHC said.

"As Ernesto moves further away to the northeast, occasional squally showers from the west will continue to wet the Island," the Bermuda Weather Service said Saturday night, warning that seas would remain hazardous through the night.

The island was expected to see "drier and brighter weather" on Sunday as Ernesto moved northeast and passed near southeastern Newfoundland late Monday.

Ernesto was located some 100 miles northeast of the island around midnight local time and was expected to dump seven to nine inches (175 to 225 millimeters) of rain on Bermuda overall.

"This rainfall will likely result in considerable life-threatening flash flooding to the island, especially in low-lying areas," the NHC said.

The storm had left some 18,300 customers without electricity, Bermuda's power firm Belco reported, or more than 50 percent of its customers on the island with a population of 64,000.

Images on social media showed downed trees blocking roads, power lines damaged by the storm's high winds and flooded roads.

Ahead of the storm's arrival, Bermudians prepared Friday by hauling boats out of the ocean, boarding up windows, filling bathtubs with water, and stocking up on batteries and food supplies.

"Even though we have been downgraded from hurricane to tropical storm, we must remember that some gusts will be intense," Minister of National Security Michael Weeks said Saturday, according to The Royal Gazette newspaper.

"There are a lot of downed wires and foliage, so the situation can be dangerous," he added.

Some key roads were closed and bus and ferry services were suspended, the paper said.

Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport said it would remain shut until Sunday after the storm had passed.

Ernesto was moving northeast and expected to slowly depart Bermuda Saturday and move near or east of Newfoundland in eastern Canada on Monday night, the NHC said.

It warned that dangerous beach conditions are expected along the US East Coast through next week.

Typhoon Ampil veers away from Japan, allows transport to resume
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 17, 2024 - A typhoon that blasted parts of Japan with more than 200-kilometre-per-hour winds moved out to sea on Saturday, mostly sparing the capital and allowing trains and some flights to resume.

Tokyo and its surrounding areas had been on high alert Friday for Ampil's approach, with transport services, trips, events and school classes cancelled en masse.

The storm was packing gusts of 216 kilometres per hour (134 miles per hour) on Saturday morning when it veered away from the archipelago and headed northeast into the Pacific.

Even so, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned that "some areas in the northern part of Japan are experiencing heavy rain due to warm, humid air around the typhoon".

"Please be advised that the risk of landslides has been significantly elevated by the heavy rain so far in some areas", the weather agency said in an advisory Saturday morning.

Although the feared catastrophe in Tokyo never came, some minor injuries and damage were reported, including broken windows, toppled trees and broken utility poles.

Most parts of Japan's bullet train network went back to normal Saturday after the Central Japan Railway Company closed a busy section between Tokyo and Nagoya the day before.

"JR Central bullet trains are business as usual today," the railway firm said on its website.

Airlines were still being affected to a degree, with broadcaster NHK saying All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines had together scrapped 68 flights as of Saturday morning, after hundreds of cancellations the day before.