Hurricane Dorian Devastates Bahama Islands as it Heads to the East Coast

The Bahamas continue to get slammed by hurricane Dorian, which is going down on the books as the most destructive storm to batter the islands.

Wind gusts of more than 200 miles per hour and a storm surge of between 18 and 23 feet above the normal tide levels characterized this severely destructive and slow-moving storm. It made landfall Sunday night on the Grand Bahama island as a Category 5 hurricane. It has weakened to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

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Strong leaves devastation in its wake

Flooding on a scale never seen before is expected to continue throughout the week as the now powerful Category 4 storm makes it way up the east coast. According to reports, it’s moving at a snail’s pace of 1 mph. That means the same place gets pounded over and over for hours on end. The Bahamas may get slammed through the night.

The storm destroyed homes, leaving swarms of people homeless. It's expected to move extremely close to Florida later tonight. Millions of people living in the storm’s path are under a mandatory evacuation. The storm was already blamed for the death of an eight-year-old boy taking shelter in the Abaco Islands. According to media reports, the boy drowned as the waters rose. 

“Grand Bahama is still feeling the impact of the Category 5 #HuricaneDorian. Based on reports out of Abaco, the devastation is unprecedented,” Dr Hubert Minnis, prime minister of the Bahamas said in a Tweet earlier Monday. “Winds have decreased to 165MPH but Dorian remains an extremely dangerous storm. Our focus right now is rescue, recovery, and prayer.”

Grand Bahama is still feeling the impact of the Category 5 #HuricaneDorian. Based on reports out of Abaco, the devastation is unprecedented. Winds have decreased to 165MPH but Dorian remains an extremely dangerous storm. Our focus right now is rescue, recovery and prayer.

— Dr Hubert Minnis (@minnis_dr) September 2, 2019

Widespan of the East Coast is under threat from Dorian

In the U.S. the threat from hurricane Dorian stretches from Florida to the southeastern part of Virginia. It's uncertain which areas of the coast will experience hurricane conditions.  “Hurricane watches have been extended northward to include the entire Georgia coastline and South Carolina's Lowcountry as Dorian remains parked over the northwestern Bahamas,” the Weather Channel said on its Website. “It will track dangerously close to a large portion of the East Coast from Florida to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and southeastern Virginia this week.”

As of 5:00 p.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center said on Twitter “devastating winds and storm surge will continue to affect Grand Bahama Island through tonight” and warned on Twitter that everyone there should remain in shelter. For U.S. residents on the East Coast, the National Hurricane Center warned water levels could rise in advance of the strong winds and that the risk of life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds continues to increase along the North Carolina coast. 

Here's is the 5 pm @NHC_Surge forecast for #Dorian: Water could reach these heights above ground if peak surge occurs at the time of high tide:

Storm Surge Warning extended N to Altamaha Sound Georgia. Storm Surge Watch extended N to South Santee River South Carolina. pic.twitter.com/QA6pN58Tji

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 2, 2019