Hurricane Igor churned north on Monday on a track expected to take it near Newfoundland and energy interests in easternmost Canada, after battering Bermuda with heavy winds, waves and rain that caused damage but no casualties.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre issued tropical storm warnings for the coast of Newfoundland, a region that is home to Canada’s three major offshore oil projects.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the core of the large Category 1 hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds near 120 km/h, was about 560 km north-northeast of Bermuda.
Get daily National news
Overnight, Bermuda experienced several hours of lashing wind, waves and rain. Residents of the British island territory reported uprooted trees, flying debris, widespread power outages, some flooding of streets and homes and boats torn from moorings. Bermuda has a population of more than 67,000 people.
Hurricane-force winds extended about 150 km from Igor’s core. The U.S. East Coast would experience rough surf and a stiff breeze, the Miami-based hurricane centre said.
The hurricane was moving northeast at 43 km/h. It was expected to accelerate toward the northeast, away from the U.S. coast, through late Tuesday.
Official damage assessments were being carried out in Bermuda as Igor pulled away on Monday morning. Emergency crews cleared felled trees and debris from roads.
The island appeared to have suffered far less damage from Igor than it did from Hurricane Fabian in 2003 and Public Safety Minister David Burch said Bermuda “seems to have dodged a bullet in a significant way.”
Fabian killed four people and caused millions of dollars of damage.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.