Dorian strikes Bahamas as dangerousCategory 5 storm1 September 2019, by Ramón Espinosa

A man stands on a store's roof as he works to prepare itfor the arrival of Hurricane Dorian in Freeport on GrandBahama, Bahamas, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. HurricaneDorian intensified yet again Sunday as it closed in on thenorthern Bahamas, threatening to batter islands withCategory 5-strength winds, pounding waves andtorrential rain. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Hurricane Dorian struck the northern Bahamas onSunday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, its 185mph winds ripping off roofs and tearing downpower lines as hundreds hunkered in schools,churches and other shelters.

The second-strongest Atlantic hurricane since1950, Dorian hit land in Elbow Cay in the AbacoIslands after authorities made last-minute pleas forthose in low-lying areas to evacuate. But officialsrecognized there were not many structures onhigher ground on the largely flat archipelagosoutheast of Florida.

Millions from Florida to the Carolinas kept a waryeye on the slow-moving Dorian amid indications itwould veer sharply northeastward after passing theBahamas and track up the U.S. Southeastseaboard. But authorities warned that even if its

core did not make U.S. landfall and stayed offshore,the potent storm would likely hammer U.S. coastalareas with powerful winds and heavy surf.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami saidDorian's maximum sustained winds at landfall were185 mph (295 kph), up from 175 mph (281 kph). Itis moving west at 7 mph (11 kph). "Catastrophicconditions" are occurring in The Abaco Islands andexpected across Grand Bahama later in the day,the center said.

Dorian was second only to Hurricane Allen in 1980,with its 190 mph winds.

Yolande Rolle puts sandbags at her shop's doorstep asshe prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian inFreeport on Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Sunday, Sept. 1,2019. Hurricane Dorian intensified yet again Sunday as itclosed in on the northern Bahamas, threatening to batterislands with Category 5-strength winds, pounding wavesand torrential rain. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

"It's going to be really, really bad for the Bahamas,"Colorado State University hurricane researcher PhilKlotzbach said.

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In the northern stretches of the Bahamasarchipelago, hotels closed, residents boarded uphomes and officials hired boats to move peoplefrom low-lying areas to bigger islands as Dorianapproached.

Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis warned thatany "who do not evacuate are placing themselvesin extreme danger and can expect a catastrophicconsequence."

Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for GrandBahama island, urged residents to "please, pleaseheed the warning. We have no more timeavailable."

Still, dozens of people were ignoring evacuationorders, officials said, and they were warned thatthey were placing their lives in danger.

Yolande Rolle carries sandbags to place at her shop'sdoorstep as she prepares for the arrival of HurricaneDorian in Freeport on Grand Bahama, Bahamas,Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. Hurricane Dorian intensified yetagain Sunday as it closed in on the northern Bahamas,threatening to batter islands with Category 5-strengthwinds, pounding waves and torrential rain. (APPhoto/Ramon Espinosa)

"The end could be fatal," said Samuel Butler,assistant police commissioner. "We ask you, webeg you, we plead with you to get to a place ofsafety."

Silbert Mills, owner of the Bahamas ChristianNetwork, said trees and power lines were alreadydown in The Abaco Islands and that some roadswere impassable.

"The winds are howling like we've never, everexperienced before," said Mills, 59, who plans toride out the hurricane with his family in the concretehome he built 41 years ago in central Abaco.

Among those refusing to leave were 32 people inSweetings Cay, and a group that sought safety inOld Bahama Bay resort, which officials said wasnot safe.

Butler said officials were closing certain roads withheavy equipment and warned that those on theother side would be stranded until after Dorian haspassed. The government has opened 14 sheltersacross the Bahamas.

This Friday, Aug. 30, 2019 image provided by NASAshows a view of Hurricane Dorian from the InternationalSpace Station as it churned over the Atlantic Ocean.Hurricane Dorian is strengthening as it moves westtoward the Bahamas and Florida. The National HurricaneCenter in Miami says maximum sustained windsincreased Saturday, Aug. 31 morning to 145 mph (230kph), up from 140 mph (220 kph). (NASA via AP)

"We cannot stress the amount of devastation andcatastrophic impact that Hurricane Dorian isexpected to bring," said Shavonne Moxey-Bonamy,the Bahamas chief meteorologist.

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On Saturday, small skiffs shuttled between outlyingfishing communities and McLean's Town, asettlement of a few dozen homes at the easternend of Grand Bahama island, about 150 miles (240kilometers) from Florida's Atlantic coast. Most camefrom Sweetings Cay, a fishing town of a fewhundred people about 5 feet (1.5 meters) abovesea level.

"We're not taking no chances," said MargaretBassett, a ferry boat driver for the Deep Water Cayresort. "They said evacuate, you have to evacuate."

But Jack Pittard, a 76-year-old American who hasbeen traveling to the Bahamas for 40 years, said hehas decided to ride out the storm in The AbacoIslands. He said it's the first hurricane he willexperience in his life.

"There's fear," he said by phone Sunday as theeyewall approached. "I'm worried about destructionof property, but I don't believe there's going to beloss of lives here."

This photo provided by the National Hurricane Centershows a view of Hurricane Dorian from Hurricane HunterP-3 Aircraft early Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. Dorian hasgained fearsome new muscle as an "extremelydangerous" Category 4 storm, bearing down on thenorthwestern Bahamas early Saturday en route toFlorida's east coast. (Paul Chang/National HurricaneCenter via AP)

Pittard said he battened up his house and isspending the storm in a nearby duplex behind agroup of cottages that a friend owns. He noted theocean is quite deep near where he's staying, andthere's a cay that provides protection, so he doesn'texpect significant storm surge.

"I'm not afraid of dying here," said Pittard, who livesin Lexington, Kentucky.

Meanwhile, Klotzbach, the hurricane researcher,warned of Dorian's catastrophic strength: "Abaco isgoing to get wiped."

Over two or three days, the slow-moving hurricanecould dump as much as 4 feet (1 meter) of rain,unleash devastating winds and whip up adangerous storm surge, said private meteorologistRyan Maue, seconding some of the most reliablecomputer models.

Government spokesman Kevin Harris said Dorianwas expected to affect 73,000 residents and 21,000homes. Authorities closed airports for The AbacoIslands, Grand Bahama and Bimini, but LyndenPindling International Airport in the capital ofNassau remained open.

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A child evacuated from a nearby Cay due to the dangerof floods drags his suitcase when he arrives on a ship atthe port before the arrival of Hurricane Dorian inSweeting's Cay, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, SaturdayAug. 31, 2019. Dorian bore down on the Bahamas as afierce Category 4 storm Saturday, with new projectionsshowing it curving upward enough to potentially spareFlorida a direct hit but still threatening parts of theSoutheast U.S. with powerful winds and rising oceanwater that causes what can be deadly flooding. (APPhoto/Ramon Espinosa)

Jeffrey Allen, who lives in Freeport on GrandBahama, said he had learned after several stormsthat damage predictions sometimes don'tmaterialize, but he still takes precautions.

"It's almost as if you wait with anticipation, hopingthat it's never as bad as they say it will be.However, you prepare for the worst nonetheless,"he said.

The Bahamas archipelago is frequently hit byhurricanes. Construction codes require homes tohave metal reinforcements for roof beams towithstand winds into the upper limits of a Category4 hurricane, and compliance is generally tight forresidents who can afford it. Risks are higher inpoorer communities, which typically have woodenhomes and are generally in lower-lying areas.

The slow-crawling storm was predicted to take untilMonday afternoon to pass over the Bahamas, andthen turn sharply and skirt up the U.S. coast,staying just off Florida and Georgia on Tuesday

and Wednesday and then buffeting South Carolinaand North Carolina on Thursday.

The National Hurricane Center Sunday morningissued a hurricane watch for Florida's East Coastfrom Deerfield Beach north to the Volusia andBrevard county line. The same area was also putunder a storm surge watch. Lake Okeechobee wasput under a tropical storm watch.

A baby sleeps inside a church that was opened up as ashelter for residents who will wait out Hurricane Dorian inFreeport on Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Sunday, Sept. 1,2019. Hurricane Dorian intensified yet again Sunday as itclosed in on the northern Bahamas, threatening to batterislands with Category 5-strength winds, pounding wavesand torrential rain. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Anastacia Makey, 43, far right, looks at her phone as she

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and her family sits on cots with other residents inside achurch that was opened up as a shelter as they wait outHurricane Dorian in Freeport on Grand Bahama,Bahamas, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. Hurricane Dorianintensified yet again Sunday as it closed in on thenorthern Bahamas, threatening to batter islands withCategory 5-strength winds, pounding waves andtorrential rain. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A boy plays on the beach as a No Swimming flag flies,Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, in Lake Worth, Fla. HurricaneDorian is bearing down on the northwestern Bahamas asa Category 4 storm. Forecasters say Dorian is thenexpected to go up the Southeast coastline. (APPhoto/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents alongthe state's densely populated Atlantic coast: "We'renot out of the woods yet."

He noted some forecast models still bring Dorianclose to or even onto the Florida peninsula.

"That could produce life-threatening storm surgeand hurricane force winds," DeSantis said. "Thatcone of uncertainty still includes a lot of areas onthe east coast of Florida and even into central andnorth Florida, so we are staying prepared andremaining vigilant."

Palm Beach County announced a mandatoryevacuation for the eastern half of the countybeginning at 1 p.m. Sunday after the morning

forecast put the area in a tropical storm warning.The evacuation includes mobile homes,substandard housing, low-lying areas prone toflooding and homes along the IntracoastalWaterway and on barrier islands.

For Florida, it's all going to come down to a matterof a handful of miles between relative safety andpotential devastation. On Tuesday andWednesday, Dorian is forecast to be 40 to 50 milesoff the Florida with hurricane-force wind speedsextending about 35 miles to the west.

Women sit on cots inside a church now serving as ashelter for residents who will wait out Hurricane Dorian inFreeport on Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Sunday, Sept. 1,2019. Hurricane Dorian intensified yet again Sunday as itclosed in on the northern Bahamas, threatening to batterislands with Category 5-strength winds, pounding wavesand torrential rain. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham istelling residents not to bet on safety just becausethe specific forecast track has the storm just a bitoffshore. Don't focus on the track, he said, but thelarger cone of possibility that includes landfall.

Making matters more touch-and-go is that withevery new forecast, "we keep nudging (Dorian'strack) a little bit to the left" which is closer to theFlorida coast, Graham said.

Dorian is a powerful but small hurricane with

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hurricane force winds Sunday only extending 29miles to the west, but they are expecting to grow abit. That makes forecasting the storm's path—eitherjust off the coast or skirting it—delicate and difficult.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared astate of emergency, mobilizing state resources toprepare for potential storm effects. PresidentDonald Trump already declared a state ofemergency and was briefed about what he called "avery, very powerful hurricane."

"We don't know where it's going to hit but we havean idea, probably a little bit different than theoriginal course," Trump said. "But it can change itscourse again and it can go back more towardFlorida."

The hurricane upended some Labor Day holidayweekend plans in the U.S.: Major airlines allowedtravelers to change reservations without fees, bigcruise lines rerouted their ships and CumberlandIsland National Seashore off Georgia closed tovisitors. Disney World and Orlando's other resortsheld off announcing any closings.

© 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.APA citation: Dorian strikes Bahamas as dangerous Category 5 storm (2019, September 1) retrieved 23October 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2019-09-dorian-bahamas-dangerous-category-storm.html

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