PORT SAINT LUCIE (US), Sept 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Monster storm
Dorian hovered over the Bahamas as surging seawaters and ferocious winds sowed chaos in low-lying island communities, killing at least five people and spurring mass evacuations on the US east coast.
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis on Monday termed the hurricane a
“historic tragedy” for the archipelago.
“Thus far, the Royal Bahamas Police Force has confirmed that there are
five deaths in Abaco,” Minnis told a news conference, referring to the
islands where Dorian made landfall as a Category 5 storm on Sunday.
It weakened to a still-dangerous Category 3 storm on Tuesday, according to
the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
As Dorian ground to a standstill, pounding Grand Bahama further to the
west of the island chain, the Bahamas tourism and aviation ministry announced the start of rescue operations “in parts where it is safe.”
Florida has started to feel the effects of Dorian, with heavy rain, the
possibility of tornadoes on Tuesday, and a gust of 98 kilometers
per hour reported, the Miami-based NHC said.
In a bulletin, the NHC warned that the flash flood threat in Florida will
increase in the coming days.
More than 9,500 people have taken cover in 121 shelters in Florida,
according to the state’s Division of Emergency Management.
At 1000 GMT Tuesday, the hurricane remained stationary, the NHC said,
whipping the Caribbean island with torrential rains and winds of 195
km/h, with higher gusts.
The storm is forecast to resume moving northwest Tuesday night.
“Although gradual weakening is forecast, Dorian is expected to remain a
powerful hurricane during the next couple of days,” the NHC said in an
earlier bulletin.
Initial Red Cross estimates were that 13,000 buildings may have been
damaged or destroyed by Dorian, officials in Geneva said.
Video posted on the website of the Bahamian newspaper Tribune 242 showed water up to the roofs of wooden houses in what appeared to be a coastal town.
Capsized boats floated in muddy brown water dotted with wooden boards, tree branches and other debris.
The NHC warned of a 10- to 15-foot storm surge above tide levels in parts
of Grand Bahama, accompanied by large and destructive waves, saying that
people on the island should “remain in shelter.”
Water levels in the Abacos, swamped by a similar surge Sunday, were
expected to slowly subside.
“The hurricane will then move dangerously close to the Florida east coast
late Tuesday through Wednesday evening and then move dangerously close to the Georgia and South Carolina coasts on Wednesday night and Thursday,” the NHC said.
All three eastern US states have ordered coastal residents to evacuate,
affecting close to a million people.
Neighboring North Carolina has also declared a state of emergency, as has
Virginia further north.
Florida senator and former governor Rick Scott wrote on Twitter that “a
slight wobble West” would bring the storm “on shore with devastating
consequences.”
“If you’re in an evacuation zone, get out NOW. We can rebuild your home.
We can’t rebuild your life.”
On Tuesday, he warned the “life threatening” storm surge and hurricane
force winds would be felt along the state’s coast, and urged people to stay
indoors. — NNN-AGENCIES