Bermuda Weather Service forecasts indicated last night that the Island should no longer fear being hit by Hurricane Helene.

Helene, which had been travelling in the general direction of Bermuda, was yesterday moving on a west- northwesterly path, predicted to take it well away.

It was 728 nautical miles east-southeast of the Island at 6 p.m. yesterday. Its closest point of approach within the next three days was predicted to be 427 nautical miles to the east, taking it outside the 400-mile zone where it would be viewed as a potential threat by forecasters.

Although it was a Category 2 hurricane, Helene was predicted to swing between this and a stronger Category 3 through the course of today before weakening tomorrow.

However, residents of the mid-Atlantic Azores Islands ? many of whom have family members in Bermuda ? were rushing yesterday to secure their homes and get off the streets before the arrival of Hurricane Gordon.

The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said that Gordon had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane as it closed in on the group of Portuguese islands.

Gordon's top sustained winds were near 85 mph from 100 mph earlier in the day, it said. A Category 1 storm causes minimal damage.

At 9 p.m last night it was centred about 250 miles west-southwest of the island of Terceira in the Azores, and moving east near 33 mph .

Portugal's Meteorological Institute had initially issued a red alert, which denotes extreme risk, amid fears of winds gusting up to 105 mph.