Gary Tuchman: In Bermuda, there's no driving inland
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CNN's Gary Tuchman
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CNN's Gary Tuchman is there as Hurricane Fabian as it bears down on Bermuda.
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PAGENT, Bermuda (CNN) -- As Hurricane Fabian picked up speed early Friday headed toward Bermuda, residents rushed to prepare for the worst. Forecasters warn that the storm could be one of the worst to hit the island in years.
CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien talked to CNN's correspondent Gary Tuchman, who is in Pagent, Bermuda.
O'BRIEN: Turning now to Bermuda, where they are bracing for Hurricane Fabian this morning. Residents and businesses are boarding windows, and the airport is now closed, as the island prepares for the very worst. CNN's Gary Tuchman arrived on one of the very last flights to the island, and he joins us by videophone.
Good morning to you -- Gary. How is it looking where you are?
TUCHMAN: Well, Soledad, the weather is just starting to deteriorate here. The winds are starting to pick up. It is not raining yet, but the people who live here in Bermuda, all 62,000 of them, plus the tourists who haven't gotten away, know it's going to get much worse. They're expecting close to a direct hit this afternoon, winds of up to 120 miles per hour.
And you're right. The airport closed at the crack of dawn this morning, and it will be closed indefinitely.
If you're here, you're now stuck here, and that's the big difference about covering a hurricane in a place like Bermuda compared with Florida and Texas and North Carolina like we usually do. When we cover those hurricanes, we tell people to start driving inland, and you can do it to the last minute, drive 10-20 miles inland and you'd be perfectly safe.
But there is nothing you can do it about it here. Wherever you are in Bermuda, it's just an hour's motorbike ride across the entire land mass. It's only 10 or 15 minutes from north to south, and you're near the water wherever you are.
So, they are expecting the full brunt. They haven't had a Category 3 hurricane [defined as a storm with winds from 111 mph to 130 mph that can cause extensive damage] directly hit Bermuda for 40 years, so this will be a new experience for many of the people here.
