Hurricane thunders across Bermuda

Islanders stocked up on essentials like batteries

Hurricane Florence has unleashed strong winds as it passed across the Bermuda Islands in the Atlantic.

The sixth storm of the season, Florence's winds reached 150km/h (90mph) as she stripped thousands of homes of power.

The hurricane sheared rooftops from buildings and knocked out windows in the tiny UK territory.

Forecasters said Hurricane Florence was already causing strong rip currents along sections of the eastern US coast.

At 1800 GMT, Hurricane Florence was 150km north-north-west of Bermuda, moving north at 22km/h, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

'Worst is over'

According to the centre, Bermuda is likely to experience 2.5-7.6 cm (one to three inches) of rain and heavy sea surges as a result of Florence's winds.

Authorities said that there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries as a result of the hurricane.

Florence: Your pictures

"The storm has passed over its closest point of approach. It looks like the worst is over," said Kimberly Zuill, of the Bermuda Weather Service.

Some tourists left their resorts, but the vast majority remained hunkered down in hotels and resorts.

Last year a record-breaking number of hurricanes formed over the Atlantic, the most-damaging of which was Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans and other parts of the US Gulf Coast.