HAMILTON, Bermuda, (5 Sep 2003) -- Huge waves gouged Bermuda's coast and 100 mph winds tore at power lines and palm trees as Hurricane Fabian blasted the mid-Atlantic British colony on Friday. The full fury of the most powerful hurricane of the Atlantic season bore down on the offshore financial center and tourist playground, knocking out power, littering roads with trees and damaging the Causeway, a key road linking the main island to Bermuda's airport. "We are getting hammered. It's pretty unbelievable," said Jackie Brisson, reached by telephone at her home about 100 yards inland from Bermuda's south shore in Smith's Parish. "At the property in front of us, the yard is three feet under water and the sea wall is collapsing." "The waves are coming over the roofs of the houses, which are 24 feet high. It's just terrible here. There is debris everywhere. My pool is covered in bits of porch and palm trees." The 22-square-mile island was battened down as Fabian's eye moved to within a few miles. Businesses, government offices and schools were closed, flights to and from the island were canceled, and cruise ships had left as the 62,000 residents anticipated the worst. Scattered power failures began to hit the island early on Friday. "We expect massive outages," Bermuda Electric Light Co. spokeswoman Linda Smith said. The Bermuda Regiment, the island's part-time army, was put on alert and soldiers were told to report for duty on Saturday. Although the storm's strength fluctuated as it neared Bermuda, which lies about 560 miles east of North Carolina, Fabian struck as a Category 3 storm on the 5-point Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, capable of damaging small buildings and destroying coastal dwellings. 'TREMENDOUS STRESS' At 2 p.m. EDT, Fabian's center was about 40 miles southwest of Bermuda at latitude 31.9 north and longitude 65.2 west, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. | | The huge storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 115 miles from the eye, was moving north at 17 mph, forecasters said. Fabian could dump 5-10 inches of rain on Bermuda and could carry coastal flood waters of 6-10 feet above normal tides, they said. Maximum sustained winds were 120 mph, forecasters said. Radio and television stations went off the air in the early afternoon as Fabian's northern eye wall, where some of the strongest winds are located, reached the island. Palm trees bent in the wind and utility poles tilted. "The island is experiencing a tremendous degree of stress, a consequence mainly because we've never had to deal with a storm of this consequence since 1963," said government spokesman John Burchall, referring to Hurricane Arlene, which hit the island in August 40 years ago. Burchall said part of a wall of the Causeway, a bridge about 800 yards long that links the main island to the airport and the ancient capital of St. George's, had collapsed, closing the road. The Causeway is a key link for the island, an important offshore insurance center and home to registered offices of some 12,500 international companies. Luminaries ranging from Hollywood stars Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have homes here. Authorities said the storm could be worse than Hurricane Emily, which caused more than $50 million in damage when it hit the island in September 1987. |
