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Powerful Gonzalo slams Bermuda as Category 2

Hurricane following same path as Fabian in September 2003

The Columbian
Published: October 17, 2014, 5:00pm

HAMILTON, Bermuda — The leading edge of Hurricane Gonzalo moved onto this British territory Friday night, pounding Bermudans with fierce wind and heavy surf as a powerful Category 2 storm that could raise coastal seas as much as 10 feet.

The storm’s top sustained winds weakened a bit to 110 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Gonzalo was moving north-northeast at 16 mph and was expected to batter Bermuda for hours during the night.

A white haze covered the island as wind uprooted trees and waves slammed into the shore. The Bermuda Weather Service said the eye of Gonzalo would move over parts of the island, bringing a lull, but warned people not to go outside because the most dangerous winds were expected after nightfall.

People disregarded that warning and began venturing outside to do quick damage assessments, noting that porches were destroyed and power lines were downed.

Hurricane-force winds were predicted to resume and batter Bermuda for a total of seven hours, and forecasters said a storm surge would cause significant flooding on an island about one-third the size of Washington, D.C. The Bermuda Weather Service said seas outside the reef were 30 feet and still building.

“They’re going to get hammered is the bottom line here,” said Max Mayfield, a former director of the U.S. hurricane Center in Miami.

The center said the storm’s wind speed was likely to slow further as Gonzalo moved away from Bermuda on a track that would take it past Newfoundland and across the Atlantic to Britain and Ireland. A tropical storm watch was issued for parts of southeastern Newfoundland.

The last major hurricane to strike Bermuda was Fabian in September 2003, a Category 3 storm that killed three police officers and another person while causing more than $100 million in damage as it tore off roofs, pulverized trees and flooded famed golf courses.

It also damaged the causeway linking the airport to most of Bermuda and left tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power.

Forecasters said Gonzalo was following the same path as Fabian and was expected to cause similar damage.

The last major hurricane to cross land in the Atlantic Basin was Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which hit Cuba as a Category 3 storm.

Bermuda has a population of roughly 70,000 and lies 850 miles east of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world and the government enforces strict building codes to ensure homes can withstand sustained winds of at least 110 mph.

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