Residents in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos braced themselves on Monday as Hurricane Erin, the first of the Atlantic season, passed nearby as a Category 4 storm, with winds of 225 kph.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Erin could strengthen further as it sweeps by the islands and is expected to remain a major hurricane through midweek. While not forecast to make direct landfall, the storm’s size is fuelling dangerous seas and prompting evacuation orders on the U.S. East Coast.
AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski described Erin as one of the fastest-strengthening storms on record, intensifying from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in just over a day. It briefly reached that level on Saturday before weakening slightly. This marks the fourth consecutive Atlantic season with at least one Category 5 hurricane.
In Turks and Caicos, public services were suspended and residents in exposed areas were told to be ready to evacuate the area. The Bahamas’ meteorology department warned of extremely rough seas, urging vessels to stay in port.
Kate Williamson, a Bahamian district administrator, said residents of the small island of Long Cay should move to the mainland. "People should finalise their preparations," she told local media.
Although Erin’s eye is expected to stay offshore, the NHC warned that tropical storm conditions and flooding could affect North Carolina’s Outer Banks by late Wednesday. Waves as high as six metres and dangerous rip currents are forecast.
Authorities in Dare and Hyde counties ordered evacuations for residents and tourists on the barrier islands of Hatteras and Ocracoke. The U.S. National Park Service said the Outer Banks usually attracts 2.7 million visitors each year.
Local innkeepers are taking different approaches. On Hatteras Island, hotel owner Holly Andrzejewski said she and her family would remain.
"Visitors are supposed to leave today and residents tomorrow, but we’re staying. We want to safeguard our property," she said.
On nearby Roanoke Island, innkeeper Lee Brickhouse said some guests were rescheduling. "We’re just holding our breath that the worst won’t happen," he told Reuters.
Washington has accepted Tehran’s request to relocate planned nuclear talks, with negotiations now expected to take place in Oman on Friday (6 Februr...
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday and discussed the situation in Ukraine, including the overnight Ru...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (3 February) signed a spending deal into law that ends a partial U.S. government shutdown and gives lawmakers t...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on Tuesday (February 3) with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar one day after the U.S. and India...
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about AI creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of ...
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday and discussed the situation in Ukraine, including the overnight Russian attacks on the country, the UK government said.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (3 February) signed a spending deal into law that ends a partial U.S. government shutdown and gives lawmakers time to negotiate potential limits on his immigration crackdown.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on Tuesday (February 3) with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar one day after the U.S. and India signed a trade deal that slashes U.S. tariffs on Indian goods.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about AI creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of quarterly reports from Alphabet and Amazon later this week.
Heavy snow continued to batter northern and western Japan on Saturday (31 January) leaving cities buried under record levels of snowfall and prompting warnings from authorities. Aomori city in northern Japan recorded 167 centimetres of snow by Friday - the highest January total since 1945.
The United States accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its top diplomat in Havana on Sunday (1 February) after small groups of Cubans jeered at him during meetings with residents and church representatives.
Talks with the U.S. should be pursued to secure national interests as long as "threats and unreasonable expectations" are avoided, President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X on Tuesday (3 February).
At least 12 people were killed and seven wounded after a Russian drone struck a bus carrying miners in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, government officials said on Sunday (1 February).
Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío has denied that Havana and Washington have entered formal negotiations, countering recent assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump, while saying the island is open to dialogue under certain conditions.
Storm Kristin has left central Portugal with severe destruction, major power outages and a reconstruction bill that officials say could reach billions of euros.
Storm Kristin has killed at least five people and left more than 850,000 residents of central and northern Portugal without electricity on Wednesday (28 January), as it toppled trees, damaged homes, and disrupted road and rail traffic before moving inland to Spain.
Several people, including children, were reported missing in New Zealand's north island on Thursday after a landslide struck a coastal campsite amid heavy rain that caused evacuations of people to safety, road closures and widespread power outages.
At least four people were killed on Tuesday as floods swept across Tunisia during the worst torrential rain for more than 70 years in some regions, and there were fears the death toll could rise, authorities said.
The world has already entered an era of global water bankruptcy, with irreversible damage to rivers, aquifers, lakes and glaciers pushing billions of people into long-term water insecurity, according to a major United Nations report released on Tuesday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment