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

At midday, 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 BWS 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”.

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

The Causeway will close at 6pm tomorrow until further notice.

All public and private schools will be closed tomorrow and on Thursday, after which an assessment will be carried out to determine when they will reopen.

“Following the decision by the EMO, all private schools will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday,” Dave Horan said in a statement on behalf of the Private Schools Heads Association.

“While individual circumstances may well be different for each school, risk assessments will be conducted on Thursday with the assumption that the schools will reopen on Friday.”

Bus service will halt at 4pm tomorrow and ferry services will be suspended from 8pm today, until further notice.

The LF Wade International Airport will close on Wednesday and reopen when it is safe. Passengers must check directly with airlines for flight status, Mr Weeks said.

Government offices will close at 1pm tomorrow with all staff asked to vacate buildings by then.

An emergency shelter will be established at CedarBridge Academy, to operate from 4pm tomorrow for anyone who needs it.

Garbage collection will run as normal on Wednesday, with trash pick-ups scheduled for Thursday now moved to Friday, and Friday collections moved to Saturday this week.

Mr Weeks said that the EMO operational centre will be activated tomorrow afternoon and added that the Royal Bermuda Regiment “may well be embodied” at that time.

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 734 miles west-southwest of Bermuda at noon today.

The BWS said in a forecast discussion earlier: “Hurricane Humberto gradually weakens as it moves north of the area on Wednesday and Hurricane Imelda then approaches from the southwest to return cloudy skies with periods of showers and rain, some heavy and thundery at times as it passes just south/overhead late Wednesday into Thursday.

“By Thursday morning Imelda clears to the east though marine layer stratocumulus may linger in its wake with the possibility of a shower or two.”

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.”

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.”