Tropical Storm Ernesto intensified into a hurricane Wednesday as it moved over the Atlantic on its approach to Puerto Rico, where schools and offices shut down as the Caribbean island was hit by torrential rain.
Ernesto is passing north of the U.S. territory, but authorities there are still expecting widespread disruption, power outages and heavy rainfall. The Puerto Rican government said that there were 344 shelters available and that public transport is suspended.
This is now the third hurricane of this year’s hurricane season.
The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday that the storm was at sustained wind speeds of 75 mph. It warned that “significant” flooding is to be expected across Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi urged people to be indoors by Tuesday evening as forecasts warned that as much as 10 inches of rain could hit the southeast of the island, with possible landslides and widespread flooding. The storm was about 85 miles north of the capital, San Juan, early Wednesday.
“We are particularly warning tourists and our own population to stay away from the ocean. Ocean conditions particularly in the north and the eastern part of Puerto Rico are going to be very dangerous,” the governor said.
A hurricane watch is in place for the British Virgin Islands, while a tropical storm watch is in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra — all of which are popular with tourists.
The storm is expected to pass north of Puerto Rico on Wednesday and approach Bermuda on Saturday.
“I’m hoping it will go away quickly,” José Rodríguez, 36, told The Associated Press as he climbed on the roof of his uncle’s wooden shack in the Afro Caribbean community of Piñones on Puerto Rico’s north coast to secure the family’s fried street food business.
Dramatic video posted to social media showed the moment sailors were rescued from a stranded tugboat off the island of Sint Martin, as it was blasted by high winds and heavy rain Tuesday.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm of what has already been an exceptionally busy hurricane season.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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