Paulette batters Bermuda as it nears landfall

Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Hurricane Paulette was battering Bermuda with strong damaging winds and torrential rains early Monday, causing a power outage that is affecting tens of thousands of residents, forecasters said.

In a 4 a.m. AST advisory, the National Hurricane Center said much of Bermuda was now in the northern portion of Paulette's eye, resulting in an island-wide power outage with more than 20,000 people without electricity.

Paulette strengthened into a hurricane Saturday night and the Bermuda government has warned its residents to prepare for it to hit directly as a Category 2 storm.

"The public will need to prepare for a long duration of tropical-storm-force winds beginning late Sunday afternoon and then ramping up to hurricane strength by the early hours of Monday," the government said in a statement.

Bermudans were warned that the storm should last nine hours, creating a storm surge greater than three feet. Residents in low-lying areas were warned to take the necessary safety precautions to protect themselves and their homes.

Schools and all government buildings will be closed Monday and Tuesday while the L. F. Wade International Airport was shuttered Sunday evening and was scheduled to reopen noon Tuesday.

The National Hurricane Center said in its early morning advisory that Paulette was located about 10 miles southeast of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. It was moving northwest at 13 mph.

"Winds have steadily increased on Bermuda during the past few hours and will continue to increase this morning," the NHC said in an earlier statement.

The Bermuda Weather Service reported wind gusts of 117 mph at the Marine Operations Center.

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