Imelda weakens after downing trees and power lines in Bermuda as a hurricane

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The clean up began across Bermuda on Thursday after Hurricane Imelda swiped past the tiny British territory as a Category 2 storm, downing trees, power lines and transformers.

“There has been no significant damage and, most importantly, no reported casualties,” Premier David Burt said.

Bermuda had closed schools, offices and the international airport on Wednesday as it deployed 100 soldiers to secure infrastructure, clear roads and help at emergency shelters.

Schools and government offices remained closed on Thursday as Imelda weakened to a post-tropical cyclone and moved off into the Atlantic. The international airport opened early Thursday afternoon.

At the height of the storm, 18,000 customers were left without power, but crews were quickly restoring it on Thursday.

Earlier in the week, Imelda battered the northern Caribbean. It unleashed widespread flooding in eastern Cuba, where two people died, and in Haiti, where one person was missing and two others were injured.

Hurricane Humberto, which had been racing ahead of Imelda, dissipated Wednesday after passing west of Bermuda on Tuesday. Its remnants were named Storm Amy by U.K. forecasters, who warned it would affect much of Ireland and the U.K. starting Friday.

Both weather systems were generating dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents affecting beaches along the north Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda and much of the U.S. East Coast.

While the Atlantic hurricane season is winding down, forecasters urged people to remain alert.

“We expect atmospheric conditions that could support tropical storms and hurricanes well into late October and November this year,” said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert at AccuWeather.

Imelda was the fourth hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-normal season with 13 to 18 named storms. Of those, five to nine were forecast to become hurricanes, including two to five major hurricanes, which pack winds of 111 mph or greater.