“Historic Tragedy” – Deadly Hurricane Dorian kills 5 in Bahamas
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Hurricane Dorian pounded the Bahamas on Monday, killing at least five people and inundating homes with floodwater ahead of its expected advance on the U.S. coast, where more than a million people were ordered evacuated.
Dorian, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, had been hovering over Grand Bahama Island for 36 hours by early Monday evening and was expected to stay put until at least Tuesday morning.
It warned residents not to leave shelters until the eye of the hurricane passes. The storm’s strongest winds are usually close to the eye.
At least five people were killed in the Abaco Islands, in the northern Bahamas, Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told a news conference on Monday.
The prime minister of the Bahamas has posted an update on Twitter, reiterating what he said at his media briefing, that so far there have been five confirmed deaths in Abaco and that the hurricane. which is expected to continue to batter Grand Bahama Island for “many more hours” is a “historic tragedy”.
“We know that there are a number of people in serious distress. We pray for their safety and will provide relief and assistance as soon as possible,” he said.
“We are in the midst of a historic tragedy in parts of our northern Bahamas,” Minnis said. “Our mission and focus now is search, rescue and recovery.”
The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Centre, published in the past few minutes, has advised residents on Grand Bahama Island to stay inside as they are currently experiencing the “eyewall” of Dorian.
It says described conditions as “extremely dangerous” with hazards including winds of up to 165mph (265 km/h) and storm surges of 12-18 feet above normal tide levels with higher destructive waves of3.5-5.5 metres.
It also said residents of the Abaco Islands should continue to stay in shelters.
Hurricane Dorian is still hovering over Grand Bahama, battering the island with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour.
More than 2,700 flights in or out of the US have been cancelled on Monday and Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Dorian, according to Flightaware.com. It is unclear how many of these delays and cancellations were directly related to Dorian, but many of the affected airports with cancellations are in Florida.
