Hurricane Humberto intensifies, threatens US coast with strong waves

Hurricane Humberto continues intensifying in the Atlantic on Monday and threatens to pound the southeast coast of the United States with strong waves, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Humberto, a Category 1 hurricane, has maximum sustained winds of 140 kph (85 mph) and is moving east-northeast at 11 kph (7 mph), the Miami -based NHC said in its 1500 GMT public advisory.

“Interests in and around Bermuda should monitor the progress of Humberto since a Tropical Storm Watch will likely be required for Bermuda later this afternoon,” the NHC said.

The NHC said that “on the forecast track, the center of Humberto is forecast to approach Bermuda Wednesday night.”

The storm is expected to affect marine conditions in the Bahamas and along the southeastern US coast over the next few days.

“Swells generated by Humberto will affect the northwestern Bahamas and the southeastern coast of the United States from east-central Florida to North Carolina during the next few days. These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the NHC said.

At 1500 GMT, the center of Hurricane Humberto was located about 1,145 kilometers (710 miles) west of Bermuda.

Forecasters expect the storm to intensify over the next 48 hours and become a major hurricane of Category 3 or more on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which measures hurricane strength based on wind velocity.

While Humberto moves toward Bermuda, residents of the northwest Bahamas are still clearing the debris left by Hurricane Dorian , which made multiple landfalls in the archipelago two weeks ago.

Dorian made landfall on Sept. 1 on Elbow Cay and later on Great Abaco as a Category 5 storm, the most powerful type of hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

The hurricane caused catastrophic damage in the Abacos and on Grand Bahama, home to the popular tourist destination of Freeport.

Thousands of people were evacuated from the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama to New Providence, the most populous island in the archipelago and where the capital of Nassau is located, following the storm.

Over the weekend, officials said the death toll from Hurricane Dorian had risen from 50 to 52, with more than 1,000 people still listed as missing.

The UN estimates that the homes of 70,000 people in the Bahamas were either completely destroyed or seriously damaged by Dorian. EFE abm/hv