Additional Coverage:
- North Carolina homes destroyed as Hurricane Imelda and Humberto barrel towards East Coast (themirror.com)
Five homes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks were destroyed Tuesday, underscoring the powerful reach of distant hurricanes Humberto and Imelda, even as the storms churn hundreds of miles from the U.S. East Coast.
Officials reported that the unoccupied homes collapsed between 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m., with no injuries reported. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore confirmed the damage in a social media post.
While neither Hurricane Humberto nor the strengthening Hurricane Imelda are projected to make landfall in the United States, their influence is being felt along the Atlantic seaboard. Hurricane Humberto, which reached Category 4 status on Monday, is already battering Bermuda with winds around 25 mph, prompting warnings for dangerous surf conditions and rip currents along coastal areas from Florida to New Jersey, according to AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert, Alex DaSilva.
Hurricane Imelda, which strengthened to a Category 1 storm on Tuesday and is the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season, is of “greatest concern” to Bermuda, according to the island’s Minister of National Security, Michael Weeks, who stressed the seriousness of the threat. Imelda is expected to bring hurricane conditions to Bermuda for several hours overnight Wednesday into Thursday.
The storm’s impact has been tragically severe in other regions. In Cuba, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero confirmed two fatalities in Santiago de Cuba province attributed to Imelda, including a 60-year-old man who died in landslides. Flooding and landslides have cut off 17 communities, affecting over 24,000 residents, while more than 18,000 people were evacuated in Guantánamo province.
A curious weather phenomenon known as the Fujiwhara effect has been triggered as the two hurricanes approach each other, causing them to circle one another before potentially merging.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had predicted an above-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic, forecasting 13 to 18 named storms, with five to nine becoming hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30.