Hurricane Dorian strikes Bahamas
Hurricane Dorian closed in on the Bahamas yesterday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm that forecasters said will pummel the low-lying island chain with devastating winds, towering storm surges and torrential rains for 30 hours or more.
The slow-moving storm was packing sustained winds of 175 mph (280 kph), gaining in power as it bore down on the Bahamas’ northern Abaco islands 35 miles (56 km) away.
“The eyewall of #Dorian is reaching the Abaco Islands. Residents there should take immediate shelter,” the Miami-based National Hurricane Center tweeted.
Many residents of the Abaco Islands were reported to have opted to ride out the monster storm rather than heed government warnings to evacuate.
The Nassau Guardian quoted local resident Troy Albury as saying 150 people stayed behind in Guana Cay, in the center of the Abaco islands, to face the storm’s fury. Only eight left on the last ferry out, he said.
Power went out as the storm approached, a resident of Man-o-war Cay in the Abacos told AFP.
“You’re talking a major hurricane over the Bahamas for 30 hours plus,” said NHC director Ken Graham on Facebook Live.
“That’s major hurricane winds, that’s storm surge of 10 and even 20 feet in some of those areas,” he said.
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