Residents were urged today to “take this storm seriously” after the Emergency Measures Organisation put in place a series of steps to reduce risk in the face of Hurricane Imelda.

At 3pm, the weather system was forecast to make its closest point of approach to the island at 9pm tomorrow, when it will be within 29 miles of, or directly over, Bermuda.

A hurricane warning was in effect and the community was already experiencing rain bands associated with Hurricane Humberto, which was 300 miles west of the island at noon, moving north-northwest at about 18mph.

Its closest point of approach was predicted to be 277 miles to the northwest at 4am tomorrow, with that forecast subject to change, the Bermuda Weather Service said.

Michael Weeks, the Minister of National Security, highlighted this afternoon: “I cannot overstate the seriousness of this threat.”

He added that Imelda was expected to bring sustained hurricane-force winds for four to six hours overnight on Wednesday into Thursday.

“This, and I must stress, is not a passing squall,” Mr Weeks said.

“This is a dangerous storm system that could bring destructive winds, heavy rainfall and significant coastal impacts.

“Now is the time to act. Preparations for Humberto should well be under way and ideally already be complete.”

He added that all preparations for Imelda must be finished by midday tomorrow, after which conditions will deteriorate “and it will no longer be safe to be out and about our country”.

Phil Rogers, the director of the BWS, said Bermuda was experiencing “significant bands of rain, thunder storms are embedded in those bands which will continue through the day today and overnight tonight”.

He added that winds will slowly drop off tomorrow morning.

“We have high seas through the night tonight and through the day tomorrow,” Mr Rogers said.

“The maximum wave height should be around 30 feet. We are getting rip currents.

“Tomorrow morning we expect winds to slowly drop off but then we will get Imelda, which has been upgraded to a full hurricane.

“Imelda is a quick-moving storm, it should start affecting us in the afternoon.

“We expect the 58 mile-per-hour winds to start affecting Bermuda at 7pm or 8pm tomorrow evening, and the hurricane-force winds will start affecting Bermuda at 9 or 10 o’clock in the evening.

“The hurricane-force winds should reach 69 to 92 miles per hour with gusts up to as high as 115 miles per hour.

“The hurricane-force winds are expected to affect us for about six hours into early Thursday. Winds should steadily drop off after that pretty quickly.”

Mr Rogers said that the two storms were not expected to converge.

He said: “The track of Imelda is probably influenced somewhat by Humberto but there is no ability for them to combine into one big storm”.

Mr Weeks said that the EMO agreed a number of key decisions today, to take effect over the next 48 hours.

Among them was that the Causeway will close at 6pm tomorrow until further notice, that schools will be closed tomorrow and Thursday, and that the government shelter will operate at CedarBridge Academy from 4pm tomorrow.

The minister said: “In this case, Imelda has the potential to damage and disrupt our island significantly.

“By preparing properly, we can limit the damage, protect lives and recover more quickly after the storm passes.

“So I say again, take this storm seriously. Finish your preparations by noon tomorrow and aim to be off the roads no later than 2pm.

“The EMO will meet again tomorrow morning to get the latest weather information and we shall immediately advise the public accordingly.”

Imelda was 693 miles west-southwest of Bermuda at 3pm today.

The US-based National Hurricane Centre noted that Imelda was moving towards the northeast at about 7mph.

“A generally east-northeastward motion at a faster forward speed is expected over the next couple of days,” it added.

“On the forecast track, the centre of the hurricane should continue to move away from the Bahamas today and be approaching Bermuda Wednesday afternoon.

“Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 80mph with higher gusts.

“Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours.

“Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the centre and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.”

The NHC said that between 2in and 4in of rain could be expected to fall across Bermuda from tomorrow into Thursday, which could result in flash floods.

It added: “In Bermuda, a dangerous storm surge is expected to produce coastal flooding in areas of onshore winds.

“The surge will be accompanied by large and damaging waves.”

Mr Weeks reminded the public of preparation measures they should take ahead.

He said: “Check on our seniors, vulnerable loved ones and neighbours. Reach out, offer assistance and make sure they are safe and prepared.

“Make sure you have at least three days of water, non-perishable food, flash lights, spare batteries, a first aid kit and necessary medications.

“Ensure you have a portable FM radio. The emergency broadcast station is 100.1FM. There will be broadcasts from late afternoon on Wednesday with vital updates.

“Clear yards of loose items, garden furniture and debris that could become dangerous projectiles in hurricane-force winds.

“Trim back any overhanging branches.”

Belco said today that owing to the passage of Hurricane Imelda, its walk-in cashier service in the lobby of its head office on Serpentine Road will be closed from midday tomorrow.

A spokesman for the power company explained: “As forecasts show a prolonged period of high winds and heavy rainfall, potentially severe at times from today through Thursday, we want to remind customers that if you lose power, our crews may not be able to respond immediately.

“They will begin restoration work as soon as it is safe to do so, as the safety of our team and the public is paramount.

“We urge our medical device dependent customers to create a back-up plan in case of power loss.

“Unfortunately, Belco cannot guarantee electricity service for the duration of the storm and alternative arrangements may be necessary.

“We also ask residents not to call Belco if their power goes out.

“Properties equipped with advanced metering infrastructure meters will automatically alert us to outages.

“Keeping phone lines open for emergencies such as pole fires and downed power lines is critical.”