“We are in the midst of a historic tragedy,” Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in announcing the fatalities. He called the devastation “unprecedented and extensive.”
The second-strongest Atlantic hurricane since 1950, Dorian hit land in Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands after authorities made last-minute pleas for those in low-lying areas to evacuate. But officials recognized there were not many structures on higher ground on the largely flat archipelago southeast of Florida.
An already dangerous Hurricane Dorian intensified yet again Sunday as it closed in on the northern Bahamas, threatening to batter islands with Category 5-strength winds, pounding waves and torrential rain as people hunkered down in schools, churches and other shelters.
A dangerous Hurricane Dorian closed in on the northern Bahamas early Sunday, threatening to batter islands with 150 mph (240 kph) winds, pounding waves and torrential rain as people hunkered down in schools, churches and other shelters.
Millions of people in Florida, along with the state’s Walt Disney World and President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, are in the potential crosshairs of the hurricane. Forecasters say Dorian, which had top sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) Friday night, will threaten the Florida peninsula late Monday or early Tuesday.
The resort, currently closed for the summer, is on the wealthy barrier island of Palm Beach. No activity could be seen there Friday afternoon and the Trump Organization did not return a call seeking comment.
Trump declared a state of emergency in Florida and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster-relief efforts.
Florida residents picked the shelves clean of bottled water and lined up at gas stations Thursday as an increasingly menacing-looking Hurricane Dorian threatened to broadside the state over Labor Day weekend.
Trump said he had delivered the news of the cancellation to Polish President Andrzej Duda earlier Thursday and plans to reschedule the trip — which would have been his second to Warsaw — in the “near future.”
Power outages and flooding were reported across the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra after Dorian hit St. Thomas as a Category 1 storm.
Tropical storm Barry made landfall in the US state of Louisiana and has weakened to a storm from a hurricane.
People boarded up buildings, stocked up on water and braced for torrents of rain and punishing wind from a strengthening Tropical Storm Barry that threatened millions as it churned a path ashore and tested efforts to guard against flooding since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans 14 years ago.
Spain was also preparing itself for what was dubbed a "zombie" hurricane, as it first formed on September 23 and has been meandering through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean for weeks.
Hurricane Michael battered Florida causing uprooting of trees and power outages.
Based on its internal barometric pressure, Michael was the third most powerful hurricane to hit the US mainland, behind the unnamed Labor Day storm of 1935 and Camille in 1969.
The hybrid storm, often called a "Medicane" (Mediterranean + hurricane) has features similar to hurricanes and typhoons, CNN reported on Friday.
According to the National Weather Service, nearly 4 million people were under a tropical storm watch, while over 5.4 million people reside in areas under hurricane warnings or watches on the US East Coast.
Hurricane Florence prepares for landfall in Carolinas, Virginia, authorities order evacuations
Hurricane Florence has the potential to bring catastrophic flooding to areas of the eastern United States already soaked by heavy rains.
Evacuation of the state’s entire coastline starting Tuesday noon was ordered by the South Carolina governor and predicted nearly 1 million people would flee.
Top News
Latest News
