Hurricane Ernesto, which made landfall on the small British Atlantic territory of Bermuda early Saturday, brought heavy rains and strong winds before moving away from the area in a north-northeast direction.

The storm forced residents to stay in their homes and more than 26,000 people were without power, officials said. The Category 1 hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). It was located about 85 miles (135 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 6 mph.

The National Hurricane Center had previously warned of strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and significant coastal flooding, but the hurricane warning for the region was later downgraded to a tropical storm warning.

Bermuda is expected to receive 150 to 225 millimeters of rain. “This rain is likely to cause significant, life-threatening flash flooding, particularly in low-lying areas of the island,” the center said.

Due to the size of the storm and its slow movement, tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force gusts were expected through Saturday afternoon. The Bermuda government said tropical storm-force winds would continue well into Sunday.

The Bermuda Weather Service confirmed that the eye passed over Bermuda between 5:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. local time. The eye expanded as it passed.

The hurricane center reported life-threatening surf and current conditions on the east coast of the United States and said they would reach Canada later today. The center of Ernesto will slowly move away from Bermuda on Saturday and pass near southeastern Newfoundland late Monday and Monday evening, the center said.

Lana Morris, manager of the Edgehill Manor Guest House in Bermuda, said conditions were calm although winds had picked up again. “I’ve spoken to my guests and they told me they still have power, running water and are fine.”

Morris said she has been communicating with her guests by phone. “They don’t have internet – but if the network goes down, it’s down. They’re safe and I’m happy with that.”

Bermuda is an archipelago of 181 tiny islands, whose total land mass is roughly the size of Manhattan.

According to AccuWeather, it is rare for the eye of a hurricane to make landfall in Bermuda. Since 1850, only 11 of 130 tropical storms that came within 100 miles of Bermuda have made landfall, according to AccuWeather.

The island is a well-known offshore financial center with robust construction and, due to its high altitude, storm surges are not as problematic as on lower-lying islands.

Ernesto previously struck the northeastern Caribbean, leaving tens of thousands of people without water in Puerto Rico, while the National Weather Service issued another severe heat advisory, warning of “dangerously hot and humid conditions.”

LUMA, Puerto Rico’s national power utility, said it had restored power to more than 1.3 million customers 72 hours after Ernesto passed through. Hundreds of thousands of others were without water as the National Weather Service issued another severe heat advisory, warning of “dangerously hot and humid conditions.”

“It’s not easy,” said 60-year-old Andrés Cabrera, who lives in the northern coastal town of Carolina and has no water or electricity.

Like many others on the island, he could not afford a generator or solar panels. Cabrera said he was only “reliant on the wind coming from the street” for relief.

Officials said they hoped to restore power to 90 percent of Puerto Rico’s nearly 1.5 million homes by Sunday, but did not say when power was expected to be fully restored.

After cleanup and debris removal operations are completed, the Virgin Islands Department of Education announced that all public schools will resume operations on Monday.

Classes in Puerto Rico’s public schools were also scheduled to begin on Monday, almost a week after the original date.

Ernesto is forecast to cross parts of the Leeward Islands on Tuesday and approach or pass the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by Tuesday evening.

Ernesto is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year as oceans are record-breakingly warm, forecasting 17 to 25 named storms and four to seven major hurricanes.