Hurricane Joaquin
Hurricane Joaquin passed by Bermuda early Monday after lashing the island with heavy rains. In this photo, dated Oct. 4, 2015, damage is seen in the Bahamas following Hurricane Joaquin in this still image taken from video provided by the United States Coast Guard. Reuters/United States Coast Guard/Handout

Hurricane Joaquin is now a tropical storm, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), as it moved past Bermuda early Monday, heading northeastward through the Atlantic Ocean.

Maximum sustained winds of the tropical storm were about 85 mph with higher gusts and forecasts said that Joaquin would weaken in the next 48 hours, AccuWeather.com reported. Joaquin has moved to the northern Atlantic. The storm was expected to bring 3 to 5 inches of downpour across Bermuda along with floods, NHC said in an advisory.

Flights to Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport were cancelled Sunday and ferry service was suspended because of the rough weather conditions, Associated Press (AP) reported. Emergency services were put on alert and power outages were reported in several parts.

Joaquin, which was a Category 4 hurricane, battered southeastern Bahamas and left a U.S. cargo ship with 33 people on board missing Thursday. The vessel lost power and communication after it was caught in the hurricane. The fate of the ship remained unknown.

The Bahamas also suffered severe flooding and there were reports of damaged homes. Swells formed by the storm affected the Bahamas and the eastern coast of the U.S. about 600 miles away, AP reported.

The NHC advisory said that high water levels and waves from Joaquin would affect the U.S. mid-Atlantic region, "causing significant beach and dune erosion with moderate coastal flooding likely."

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