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CNN Sunday Morning

Hurricane Erin Heads for Island of Bermuda

Aired September 09, 2001 - 09:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to bring you more now on Hurricane Erin. It is big, it is powerful, it is well-organized, and it is winding up to smack into Bermuda. The resort island is on storm alert, but officials are hoping that Bermuda is only going to get a glancing blow.

We want to give the latest now on the storm preparations there. Darlene Ming of the Bermuda Broadcasting Company joins us now on the phone. Darlene, what's going on there right now?

DARLENE MING, BERMUDA BROADCASTING COMPANY: Well, good morning, Colleen. Well, not a whole lot, if you were to look out the window. Very little in the way of tropical force winds at this stage, although that is expected to change before the noon hour today.

But right now we've still got some sunny skies and just anticipating and keeping a weather watch.

MCEDWARDS: So, what are people doing to prepare?

MING: Well, at this stage, fortunately, it's the weekend, and so yesterday a lot of our businessmen, a lot of big commercial premises used that time late in the day to batten down. Bermudians, I think, and you'll find this in a lot of Caribbean places, tend to be a little less aggrieved by hurricanes. We tend to think that it's a more fun anticipation than anything at all.

But no major battening down occurring at this stage, but certainly we are on official weather watch. The country has moved into hurricane alert. The schools in Bermuda are planning to start tomorrow and we still are awaiting words as to whether or not this system is going to pass through as is still being forecast.

MCEDWARDS: When was the last bad one there, Darlene, for Bermuda...

MING: Well, the real bad one was hurricane Emily and that was, oh, I would say about 15 years ago. And that left Bermuda recovering for weeks and months afterward. But because we are a small land mass in the middle of the Atlantic, we do well when it comes to systems. Most of the time, we get missed.

MCEDWARDS: And do people take it seriously, though? MING: Yes, we do. Certainly, from a government and the bringing together of troops, we certainly do. Our weathermen on full alert, etcetera. All of the boatmen in and around Bermuda are on full alert, being told, being warned to stay off of the waters. But, the residents as a whole tend to find lots of fun and in hurricanes the whole excitement that a major blow is coming our way, is more exciting than anything at all to Bermudians who are quite used to this kind of weather.

MCEDWARDS: Indeed. Darlene Ming of the Bermuda Broadcasting Company. Thanks very much for that.

MING: Colleen, thanks so much.

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