Tropical Storm Bertha rakes Bermuda

[July 15, 2008]  HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) -- Tropical Storm Bertha headed back out over open ocean Tuesday after it battered Bermuda, knocking out electricity to thousands on the Atlantic tourist island.

Bermuda's weather service canceled a hurricane watch for the island late Monday as Bertha's center moved away from the British territory. It said a tropical storm watch remained in effect, however.

The storm whipped up dangerous rip currents along the U.S. East Coast from the Carolinas through southern New England, contributing to at least one drowning Saturday along a New Jersey beach, officials said.

Early Tuesday, Bertha was centered about 190 miles (305 kilometers) north-northeast of Bermuda with sustained winds near 70 mph (110 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm was swirling north-northeast at 9 mph (15 kph).

The streets of Bermuda's capital, Hamilton, were empty and all ferries and flights were canceled. Bertha's heavy rains flooded roads and its winds felled utility poles, leaving up to 4,000 without electricity. There were no reports of injuries.

Ron Smith, a carpenter who moved to Bermuda about a year ago from the English city of Stoke-on-Trent, described the broad storm's passage as "harrowing."

"You could see the waves just crashing down and the winds were ferocious, still are," said Smith, one of dozens who rode out the storm in The Pickled Onion pub and restaurant in Hamilton.

Retiree Barbara Richardson hunkered down in her home in the southern parish of Warwick, where electricity was knocked out for about an hour.

"The wind was howling pretty bad there for a while, but now it's calming down," Richardson said. "We've seen worse here."

Bertha became the Atlantic season's first hurricane on July 7, but later weakened into a tropical storm. It is expected to re-strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday, the center said.

Also Monday, Elida became the second hurricane of the Eastern Pacific region's season, scattering rains across Mexico's central coast. The storm, with winds of nearly 85 mph (140 kph), was headed away from land and was expected to gradually weaken during the next 48 hours.

Elida was centered about 480 miles (770 kilometers) south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, and was moving west about 10 mph (17 kph).

[Associated Press; By ELIZABETH ROBERTS]

Associated Press Writer David McFadden in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.

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