Forecasters used the words “catastrophic” and “devastating” to describe Hurricane Dorian as it crawled across Grand Bahama Island Monday with life-threatening storm surge, drenching rains and battering winds.
Dorian has presented extra danger to the Bahamas because of how slowly it is moving, meaning its impacts are being felt for a longer period.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Monday morning the storm was moving west at two kilometers per hour and had maximum sustained winds of 270 kilometers per hour.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said an initial assessment by authorities and its officials showed extensive damage on Grand Bahama Island and Abaco Island, with as many as 13,000 houses that may have been badly damaged or destroyed.
The number of people injured by the storm and the extent of the damage it has caused will be more clear later Monday and in the coming days.
Forecasters expect Dorian to affect Grand Bahama Island through much of the day Monday, and said it could drop 30 to 60 centimeters of rain.
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Sunday was “the worst day of my life.”
“Many had not heeded the warning. Many have remained behind and still there are individuals within the West End area who still refuse to leave,” he said at a Nassau news conference. “I can only say to them that I hope this is not the last time they will hear my voice.”
Officials in states along the southeastern U.S. coast have issued their own warnings and ordered people to evacuate the most vulnerable areas. Evacuation orders go into effect Monday in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
“Hurricane Dorian is the strongest storm to ever threaten the state of Florida on the East Coast,” said Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz. “No matter what path this storm takes, our state will be impacted. We will continue to work around the clock to prepare.”
The NHC expects the storm to weaken some and take a turn to the northeast in the coming days, but how much it turns and how quickly will determine the extent of Dorian’s effects. For now, forecasters have put hurricane warnings in place for about half of Florida’s east coast with the storm expected to bring hurricane conditions there by late Monday through Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump canceled a trip to Poland to stay home to monitor the storm. He visited Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters Sunday, urging everyone in “Hurricane Dorian’s path to heed all warnings and evacuation orders from local authorities.”
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