SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday as it dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and left nearly half of all clients in the US territory without power as it threatened to become a major storm en route to Bermuda. The storm was located about 225 miles (365 kilometres) northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico and was moving over open waters. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).
"The official forecast still reflects the possibility of Ernesto becoming a major hurricane in about 48 hours," the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday afternoon. Tropical storm warnings were discontinued for Puerto Rico and its outlying islands of Vieques and Culebra and for the US and British Virgin Islands. "I know it was a long night listening to that wind howl," US Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr said in a news conference.
An island-wide blackout was reported in St John and St Croix, and at least six cell phone towers were knocked offline across the US territory, said Daryl Jaschen, emergency management director. He added that the airports in St Croix and St Thomas were expected to reopen at midday. Schools and government agencies remained closed in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where heavy flooding was reported in several areas, forcing officials to block roads, some of which were strewn with trees.
More than 140 flights also were cancelled to and from Puerto Rico. "A lot of rain, a.