Deadly Hurricane Dorian parks itself over Bahamas
Published:Tuesday | September 3, 2019 | 8:49 AM
FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) — Practically parking itself over the Bahamas for a day and a half, Hurricane Dorian pounded away at the islands Tuesday in a catastrophic onslaught that sent floodwaters up to the second floors of buildings, trapped people in attics and chased others from one shelter to another.
At least five deaths were reported.
“We are in the midst of a historic tragedy,” Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said.
“The devastation is unprecedented and extensive.”
The storm’s relentless winds and rain battered homes and businesses on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, which have a combined population of about 70,000 and are no more than 40 feet above sea level at their highest points.
The Grand Bahama airport was under six feet of water.
Desperate callers trying to find loved ones left messages with local radio stations as the country’s health minister said medical teams would be sent to the Abaco islands by the afternoon.
As of daybreak, Dorian’s winds had dipped to 120 miles per hour, making it a still highly dangerous Category 3 hurricane, and the storm was barely moving at one mile per hour, with part of its eyewall hanging over Grand Bahama Island since Sunday night.
The storm was centred 40 miles northeast of Freeport and 110 miles northeast of West Palm Beach, Florida.
Hurricane-force winds extended out as far as 45 miles in some directions.
Hurricane Dorian came to a catastrophic daylong halt over the northwest Bahamas, flooding the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama with walls of water.
The storm was reduced to a Category 3 early Tuesday with top sustained winds of 120 miles per hour.
Dorian was expected to approach the Florida coast later Tuesday, but the threat to the state eased significantly, with the National Hurricane Center’s projected track showing most of the coast just outside the cone of potential landfall.
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