Hurricane Gonzalo takes aim at Bermuda

People on the small British territory of Bermuda are hurrying to batten down for Hurricane Gonzalo, which is churning toward them as a major Category 3 storm just days after a tropical storm damaged homes and knocked down trees and power lines in Bermuda. Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, said it was too early to tell whether the hurricane would actually hit Bermuda sometime Friday, but he warned residents to be prepared for severe weather. Gonzalo had top sustained winds of 195 km/h late Wednesday and it was centered about 935 kilometres south-southwest of Bermuda. It was moving north at 15 km/h, the hurricane center said. Gonzalo grew into a powerful Category 4 storm at one point Wednesday, but weakened a bit later in the day.

The eye of the hurricane does not have to go over Bermuda for them not to experience severe conditions.

Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami

More than 1,000 homes remained without power and homeowners worked to repair damaged roofs. The government called out 200 soldiers of the Bermuda Regiment to help with cleanup efforts on the island of roughly 70,000 people. Gonzalo swept by the eastern Caribbean earlier this week, claiming at least one life in the Dutch territory of St. Maarten. Two people were missing, one in St. Martin and the other in St. Barts. Large ocean swells continued to affect parts of the Virgin Islands, the northern coasts of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and parts of the Bahamas.

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