Titusville, Florida - Hurricane Dorian, the
second strongest Atlantic storm on record, pounded the Bahamian
islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama on Sunday night and was
forecast to move dangerously close to Florida in the next two
days, US forecasters said.
Hazards for the Abaco Islands included storm surges 18 to 23
feet (5.5 to 7 metres) above normal tide levels with higher
destructive waves, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane
Center (NHC) said.
At 8pm (0000) GMT, the hurricane was about 150 miles (240
km) from the Florida coast, parts of which were evacuating.
Farther north, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster ordered
mandatory evacuations for parts of eight coastal counties
effective at noon (1600 GMT) on Monday.
Even a glancing blow from one of the strongest storms ever
to menace Florida could bring torrential rains and damaging
winds, the NHC said.
"On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane
Dorian will continue to pound Great Abaco and Grand Bahama
islands tonight and Monday," the NHC said. "The hurricane will
move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Monday
through Tuesday night."
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bahamas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bahamas. The surge from #HurricaneDorian is putting the whole town of New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay, Abaco underwater 😳 video by Chamon McIntosh #dorian #hirricane #Dorian2019 pic.twitter.com/jHBDNPK5ny
— James Wieland (@SurfnWeatherman)
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dorian2019?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dorian2019 pic.twitter.com/SikTxCXpV7
— Nature is Scary (@NatureisScary)
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneDorian?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneDoriandestruction in the #Bahamas(via Latrae Rahming) #Dorian #AbacoIslands #Abaco #Dorian #Hurricane #Dorian2019 pic.twitter.com/EUae98rpex
— Josh Benson (@WFLAJosh)
Dorian is forecast to remain a hurricane for the next five
days, the NHC said. Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay in the
Abaco Islands with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour
(295 kph) and gusts of more than 220 mph (354 kph). Dorian was
the strongest hurricane on record to hit the northwestern
Bahamas as a life-threatening Category 5 storm on the five-step
Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale.
Dorian was tied with Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the
1935 Labor Day hurricane for the second strongest Atlantic
hurricane on record based on maximum sustained winds. Allen in
1980 was the most powerful, with 190-mph (306-kph) winds, the
NHC said.
Julia Eaddy, 70, in Titusville, Florida, said she and her
husband had ridden out several hurricanes before and were not
fazed by the forecast. "I think it will be more of the same,"
she said.
Several gasoline stations around Titusville were closed.
Many grocery stores were open but boarded up. Inside, shelves
emptied out fast.
Like many officials in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis warned
residents against becoming complacent after forecasts began
saying on Saturday that the state might escape a direct hit.
"This storm at this magnitude could really cause massive
destruction. Do not put your life in jeopardy by staying behind
when you have a chance to get out," DeSantis said, urging people
to heed evacuation orders from county officials.
A baby sleeps inside a church that was opened up as a shelter for residents who will wait out Hurricane Dorian in Freeport on Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Sunday. Picture: Ramon Espinosa/African News Agency (ANA)
Dozens of Floridians who live in boats in marinas in Brevard
County were rushing to secure their vessels, strapping them to
docks and removing canvas coverings from decks, but some boat
residents said they wanted to ride out Dorian.
"I will not get off this boat during the hurricane for any
reason at all, save a human life," said Ned Keahey, 56. "It's
home."
Residents on Abaco posted video on social media showing
floodwaters halfway up the sides of single-family homes with
parts of the roofs torn off. Car alarms blared across the
island, which was littered with twisted metal and splintered
wood.
Forecasters predicted up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain. The
storm was moving at just 5 mph (7 kph), on Sunday night,
prolonging a pummeling expected to last for hours, the NHC said.
Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in a nationally
televised news conference that a "deadly storm and a monster
storm" was battering the islands. Homes there are built to
withstand winds of at least 150 mph (241 kph), but the expected
storm surge is higher than the average roof.
"This will put us to a test that we've never confronted
before," Minnis said. "This is probably the most sad and worst
day of my life to address the Bahamian people."
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bahamas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bahamas. The surge from #HurricaneDorian is putting the whole town of New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay, Abaco underwater 😳 video by Chamon McIntosh #dorian #hirricane #Dorian2019 pic.twitter.com/jHBDNPK5ny
— James Wieland (@SurfnWeatherman)
Palm Beach County, the third most-populated county and home
to President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, was among those
with partial mandatory evacuations. Other counties announced
voluntary evacuations.
"This looks like it could be larger than all of them," Trump
said during a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (Fema).
Fema is moving food, water and generators into the
Southeastern United States, said acting Administrator Peter
Gaynor.
Also on Sunday, a new tropical storm formed southwest of
Mexico and is expected to become a hurricane on Monday, the NHC
said. Tropical Storm Juliette was 455 miles (735 km) from
Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95
kph), the NHC said.