STORY: Tropical Storm Ernesto strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday (August 14) as it churned away from the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, leaving more torrential rains in its wake and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
Scenes from eastern Puerto Rico show damages and flooding left in the wake of the fifth named Atlantic storm of the season.
Ernesto was about 175 miles (280 km) northwest of the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan as it crawled to the northwest, packing winds of about 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour), the National Hurricane Center said in a Wednesday advisory.
Ernesto should approach the British island territory of Bermuda, about 665 miles (1,093 km) east of North Carolina, by Saturday, with rainfall beginning as early as Thursday, the NHC said.
