Bermuda Braces For Category 3 Hurricane Humberto

The Associated Press reports:

Bermuda’s government called up troops and urged people to stay off the streets as the British Atlantic territory prepared for a close brush Wednesday with Hurricane Humberto, a powerful Category 3 storm. Authorities ordered early closings of schools, clinics and government offices.

Gov. John Rankin called up 120 members of the Royal Bermuda Regiment to prepare for possible storm recovery efforts and National Security Minister Wayne Caines said urged everyone to be off the streets by 5 p.m.

Officials expected tropical storm-force winds to soon begin whipping at the islands of some 70,000 people and warned that hurricane-force gusts would probably last until early Thursday.