Damage caused to a Bermuda road by Hurricane Nicole (Twitter photo).
HAMILTON, Bermuda--The eye of Hurricane Nicole was moving away from Bermuda Thursday afternoon but the large cyclone was still lashing the island with strong winds and storm surge flooding.
When the eye of Nicole began passing over the island late Thursday morning, it was a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mile-per-hour (mph) winds.
There has so far been no official word of the damage Nicole caused, but local newspaper The Royal Gazette said it had received reports of flooding and road damage.
Minister of National Security Senator Jeffrey Baron said he was “cautiously optimistic.”
However, there were power outages across the island. Shortly after midday, it was reported that more than 25,000 homes were without electricity.
In its 8:00pm advisory, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami reported Hurricane Nicole’s position as 180 miles northeast of Bermuda. It was still carrying winds of 110mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane, and it was moving northeast at 21mph.
Swells associated with Nicole will continue to affect the island during the next few days, but the NHC says the system will gradually weaken over that period. ~ Caribbean360 ~
