Hurricane Ernesto leaves thousands of Puerto Ricans without power

About half of all homes and businesses in Puerto Rico have been without power since Wednesday, as Hurricane Ernesto churned north into the warm waters of the Atlantic after dumping torrential rain on the territory.

More than 725,000 homes and businesses on the island are without electricity out of a total of about 1.5 million customers, according to LUMA Energy, the Caribbean island's main power supplier.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Ernesto, which strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane earlier in the day, was about 365 kilometres northwest of the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan as it crawled to the northwest, packing winds of about 120 kph, the National Hurricane Centre said.

The fifth named Atlantic storm of the season, Ernesto should approach the British island territory of Bermuda, about 1,095 km east of North Carolina, by Saturday, with rainfall beginning as early as Thursday, the NHC said. Ernesto could become a major hurricane in about 48 hours, it said.

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico resumed operations on Wednesday afternoon after canceling 145 flights over the last two days.

Before the effects of Ernesto fully pass, the US Virgin Islands - to the east of Puerto Rico - may get a total of up to 15.2 cm of rain, while rainfall totals of up to 25.4 cm were expected for southeastern Puerto Rico.

Ernesto is the second named Atlantic storm in a week during what is expected to be an intense hurricane season. Slow-moving Debby hit Florida's Gulf Coat as a Category 1 hurricane last week before soaking some parts of the Carolinas with up to 60 cm of rain.

Hurricane Beryl, the first of the season, was the earliest Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic when it swept through the Caribbean and the Texas Gulf Coast last month, killing dozens of people and costing an estimated $6 billion in damages.