Weather: the powerful hurricane Erin threatens the east coast of the United States

The powerful Hurricane Erin continues its progression on Monday near the Bahamas, accompanied by powerful gusts of wind and intense rains, while the threat of destructive waves on the American coast grows.

Raclated to category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale which has five, Erin evolves in the Caribbean region with winds up to 205 km/h, according to the latest bulletin of the Uragan American Center.

Erin is “unusually large”, blowing gusts from the power of a hurricane up to almost 130 kilometers beyond his eye, and the order of a tropical storm up to 370 kilometers, according to the NHC.

Strong localized showers linked to its passage were expected Monday in southeast Bahamas, the archipelago of the Turkish-and-Caica islands as well as in Haiti and in the Dominican Republic, with a risk of floods.

After tapping the Bahamas, he had to operate a turn to the north on Tuesday and then pass between the east coast of the United States and the Bermuda in the middle of the week.

Although it is not planned that it touches Earth, the weather services urged the American population on Monday afternoon not to take this hurricane lightly.

“Many of you may think that Erin’s trajectory offshore will have little or no impact in the coming days on the east coast of the United States. Nothing could be more false, ”alerted Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the NHC, in a video broadcast on social networks.

Dangerous currents as well as powerful waves up to 6 meters in height are indeed expected, running the risk of coastal floods, especially on a chain of islands bordering the North Carolina. In anticipation, certain areas have been subject to evacuation orders.

Hurricane Erin had come closer during the northern weekend of small Antilles and Puerto Rico, causing material damage. In this American territory devastated in 2017 by Hurricane Maria, houses and roads were overwhelmed by waters.

The powerful winds also slept trees on the road, and 150,000 households had been deprived of current on Sunday. Other cuts occurred on Monday, said local electricity company Luma, while ensuring that the service had been restored for more than 90% of its customers.

First hurricane of the season in the North Atlantic, Erin very quickly strengthened, reaching a little more than 24 hours the maximum level of intensity.

One of the strongest and fastest “never recorded,” said Daniel Gilford, climatologist at Climate Central.

According to the analyzes carried out by this organization, Erin crossed in the Atlantic Ocean of exceptionally hot waters which allowed such a rise in power. “We know that hurricanes act as thermal engines which absorb the energy of the surface of the ocean and convert it into winds,” recalled Mr. Gilford.

By warming the seas, climate change makes it more likely the rapid intensification of such storms and increases the risk of more powerful phenomena, according to scientists.

Despite calm beginnings, the hurricane season, which stretches from early June to the end of November, should this year be more intense than normal, according to forecasts by the American weather authorities.

In 2024, the region had been marked by several deadly storms, including Hurgagan Hélène who left more than 200 dead in the south-east of the United States.