Bermuda was braced for tropical storm force winds and high seas as Hurricane Erin skirted the Island's east side on Sunday afternoon.

At midday, the category two storm was forecast to come within 75 nautical miles to the east-northeast of the Island at 6 p.m., bringing with it 50 knots winds, heavy rain and high seas.

The Bermuda Weather Service said the hurricane was moving northwest at a speed of 12 knots.

Bermuda Regiment soldiers and Police visited residents in St. George's and on the North Shore in Hamilton Parish, warning them that they would have to evacuate their homes if the predicted storm surge reached danger levels.

However, a spokeswoman for Government's Emergency Measures Organisation explained that the brunt of storm conditions were expected to be felt during low-tide, meaning seas would not be as high as they might be.

She said most flights into the airport had been cancelled, with the exception of the British Airways flight from London Gatwick, which is scheduled to land around the same time as the storm's closest point of approach, and the American Airlines late flight from New York.

The spokeswoman also said ferry and bus services had been cancelled for the day, but added that a decision on whether schools would be open on Monday would not be taken until Sunday evening.

In addition, Bermuda Harbour Radio reported that a cruise ship, the Caronia, which was slated to arrive here on Sunday morning, had turned back to its home port of Baltimore.

Also, the container ship Oleander, which was slated to arrive today from the Port Elizabeth, New Jersey on Sunday evening, changed course and will stay away from the Island until the hurricane passes, probably arriving on Monday afternoon.

Picture: Visitors to Bermuda Greg and Heather Hughes, of Princeton, New Jersey stop off at a viewpoint on the South shore in Warwick Parish to get a better look at the surf as Hurricane Erin approaches the Island. on Sunday afternoon. - Photo David Skinner