Bill Is First Hurricane Threat To Bermuda In 3-years

NU Online News Service, aug. 21, 3:47 p.m. EDT

Hurricane Bill's move on Bermuda was the first storm to approach its shores in three years, weather experts said.

Hurricane Florence skirted the islands outer islands back in 2006 with little damage reported.

The worst hurricane to strike Bermuda in 50 years was Hurricane Fabian, a Category 3 storm that hit the island on Sept. 5, 2003. Damage estimates at the time put insured losses somewhere between $250 million and $350 million.

Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide in Boston said then that Bermuda can expect similar losses once every 40 to 50 years.

Bill has had Category 3 status with sustained winds at 110 mph, as it approached about 180 miles off the coast causing rough seas and dangerous surf for the island's inhabitants. Officials put a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning in effect on Friday, though the storm was expected not to make landfall.