��ɫtv

Imelda was about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) while moving east-northeast at 29 mph (46 kph), the center said.

A hurricane warning remained in effect for Bermuda, a wealthy overseas territory with strong structures that have withstood powerful storms in previous years.

Imelda was expected to drop between 2 and 4 inches (5 and 10 centimeters) of rain across Bermuda and produce a dangerous storm surge that the hurricane center said could unleash coastal flooding. Hundreds of customers were without power ahead of the storm.

Bermuda closed its public schools, government offices and international airport Wednesday as it deployed 100 soldiers to secure infrastructure, clear roads and help at emergency shelters ahead of the storm.

“This is a dangerous storm system that could bring destructive winds, heavy rainfall and significant coastal impacts,” said Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s national security minister.

Deadly storm

Earlier in the week, Imelda battered the northern Caribbean, unleashing widespread flooding in eastern Cuba, where two people died.

In the province of Guantánamo, more than 18,000 people were evacuated, while in Santiago de Cuba, flooding and landslides cut off access to 17 communities where more than 24,000 people live, according to state reports.

On Wednesday, more than 3,500 people remained evacuated in Guantánamo while crews began to repair damaged roads and bridges in the area.

Authorities in Haiti said one person is missing and two were injured following heavy flooding in the country's southwest and northwest regions.

Hurricane Humberto, which had been racing ahead of Imelda, dissipated on 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.

Beaches hit by dangerous swells

Imelda and Humberto's remnants were generating dangerous surf and deadly rip currents affecting beaches along the north Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda and much of the U.S. East Coast.

At least five unoccupied houses along North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Tuesday, according to the U.S. ��ɫtv Park Service, marking the latest private beachfront structures to there in recent years.

This Atlantic hurricane season marks the first time in 10 years that a hurricane hasn't made landfall in the U.S. through the end of September, according to AccuWeather, a private U.S. weather forecasting company.

“This hurricane season so far is quite unique, with several close calls for the United States,” said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert.

Only made landfall in the U.S. earlier this year.

He noted Humberto pulled Imelda away from the U.S. East Coast in what is known as the Fujiwhara Effect, a rare phenomenon in the Atlantic in which two storms are so close together that they start rotating counterclockwise around each other.

Humberto and Imelda were a mere 467 miles (751 kilometers) apart earlier this week, the closest distance recorded between two Atlantic hurricanes since 1853, according to Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm surge expert.

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

“We expect atmospheric conditions that could support tropical storms and hurricanes well into late October and November this year,” he said.

Imelda reached hurricane strength on Tuesday, becoming the Atlantic season’s fourth hurricane this year.

The U.S. ��ɫtv 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 (178 kph) or greater.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

___

Associated Press videographer Milexsy Durán in Havana and reporter Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.