Hurricane Dorian has intensified to a category 5 storm capable of inflicting catastrophic levels of destruction as it bears down on an island chain in the northern Bahamas, according to weather officials.
The storm is expected to stall over the islands late on Sunday, leading to an extended period – potentially up to 24 hours – of massive waves, flooding, power outages and torrential rain, in which sea levels could rise up to six metres and winds could reach 340 kilometres per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami.
“Devastating hurricane conditions” are expected in the Abacos Islands, in the northern Bahamas, early on Sunday, with conditions spreading across Grand Bahama Island later in the day, the NHC said.
Authorities have ordered residents to evacuate both areas.
NEW: #Dorian is now a category 5 #hurricane with 160 mph sustained winds. The eyewall of this catastrophic hurricane is about to hit the Abaco Islands with devastating winds. Next advisory: https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/oFspgN0XbT
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 1, 2019
“These hazards will cause extreme destruction in the affected areas and will continue for several hours,” the NHC said.
On Sunday, northern Bahamas residents hunkered down in schools, churches and other shelters. Winds increased from 240 km/h to 280 km/h as the storm made its way west across the Atlantic.
As of 9:30am local time (13:30 GMT), the eye of the storm was 40 kilometres east of the Bahamas and 340 kilometres east of West Palm Beach in Florida.
‘We’re not taking no chances’
In the northern stretches of the Bahamas archipelago, hotels closed, residents boarded up homes and officials hired boats to move people from low-lying areas to bigger islands as the storm approached.
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis warned that Dorian is a “dangerous storm” and said any “who do not evacuate are placing themselves in extreme danger and can expect a catastrophic consequence”.
He added that 73,000 people and 21,000 homes were at risk from storm surges.
On Saturday, small skiffs shuttled residents from the outlying fishing communities to McLean’s Town, a settlement of a few dozen homes at the eastern end of Grand Bahama island.
Residents were told to evacuate several towns in the Bahamas on Saturday. [File: Ramon Espinosa/The Associated Press]
Most people came from Sweeting Cay, a fishing town of a few hundred people about 1.5 meters above sea level.
“We’re not taking no chances,” Margaret Bassett, a ferry boat driver for the Deep Water Cay resort, told the Associated Press news agency. “They said evacuate, you have to evacuate.”
Rainfall estimates for the northwestern Bahamas were upped to 30 to 60 centimeters as the storm approached, with isolated incidents of up to 76 centimeters expected to dump down in some areas.
The outer bands of the powerful hurricane were beginning to affect the island chain early Sunday, with rain and strong winds sweeping across some areas.
Approaching the US
The slow-crawling storm was predicted to take until Monday afternoon to pass over the Bahamas, and then turn sharply and skirt up the US coast, staying just off Florida and Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday and then buffeting South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday.
But the slow approach complicates the outlook for the US, National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham told the Associated Press, as the increased time allows small changes in the winds that steer the storm.
This means Dorian can still make landfall anywhere from Florida to North Carolina during the next five days, he said.
Even if the hurricane does not make direct landfall in the US, effects will be damaging all along the Florida coast, heading past Georgia and the Carolinas.
Authorities have advised people along the Florida east coast to continue to prepare for hurricane conditions, including the risk of property damage, coastal flooding, flooding from heavy rainfall, beach erosion, large waves and loss of power.
NOAA’s #GOESEast spotted lightning in the eye of #HurricaneDorian this morning. The now catastrophic Cat. 5 storm is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and very heavy rainfall to the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama through Monday. More: https://t.co/hGBv8RfDYM pic.twitter.com/dDxjoQjoJD
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) September 1, 2019
The powerful winds are expected travel further inland and tropical storm conditions will be felt, with local flooding and isolated power outages.
The farther offshore Hurricane Dorian tracks, the less amount of rain and wind damage will occur. But, the storm may become more spread out as it travels farther north along the Atlantic coast, and the risk of heavy rain spreading inland will also increase.
Throughout the central and eastern counties of the Florida Peninsula, there will also be the risk of isolated tornadoes, which includes the possibility of waterspouts along the east coast.
