Washington, Sep 12 (DPA) Hurricane Florence, packing winds of up to 150 km per hour, lashed Bermuda with rain and high waves as it swirled past the Atlantic islands.

Florence pounded the British territory Monday as a category one hurricane, the weakest on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

Coming from the southwest, the storm's centre bypassed Bermuda and was about 150 km to the northwest by afternoon, the hurricane centre said. It said Florence had sustained maximum winds of 150 km an hour.

Bermuda residents boarded up windows and filled sandbags as the storm approached. The hurricane centre warned of storm surges of up to 2.6 metres above normal tide levels, dangerous waves and heavy rainfall.

Florence, the second hurricane of the Atlantic season, was projected to move on a northeasterly path off the US coast.

Forecasters did not expect the storm to threaten the North American coast but said it would bring heavy surf to the US and Canadian shores.