Hurricane Cristobal was gradually gaining strength Tuesday as it moved over the Atlantic Ocean toward the island of Bermuda after dropping heavy rain on parts of the Caribbean and causing at least five deaths. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said Cristobal was centered about 950 kilometers southwest of Bermuda and had maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (kph) as it approached the British island territory. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 75 kilometers from the center, and tropical-force winds extended outward up to 335 kilometers, the NHC said. Cristobal was forecast to pass northwest of Bermuda on Wednesday. Before strengthening into a hurricane, Cristobal flooded parts of the Caribbean and halted flights in the Turks and Caicos islands, where officials said 30 centimeters of rain had fallen since Friday.
