PORT SAINT LUCIE, United States, Sept 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Monster storm
Dorian hovered over the Bahamas as surging seawaters and ferocious winds
sowed chaos in low-lying island communities, killing at least five people and
spurring mass evacuations on the US east coast.
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis on Monday termed the hurricane a
“historic tragedy” for the archipelago.
“Thus far, the Royal Bahamas Police Force has confirmed that there are
five deaths in Abaco,” Minnis told a news conference, referring to the
islands where Dorian made landfall as a Category 5 storm on Sunday.
It weakened to a still-dangerous Category 3 storm on Tuesday, according to
the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
As Dorian ground to a standstill, pounding Grand Bahama further to the
west of the island chain, the Bahamas tourism and aviation ministry announced
the start of rescue operations “in parts where it is safe.”
For many, the wait for help to arrive has been terrifying.
A text message seen by AFP from a woman named Kendra Williams, who lives
on Grand Bahama, said: “We are under water; we are up in the ceiling. Can
someone please assist us or send some help. Please. Me and my six
grandchildren and my son, we are in the ceiling.”
Florida has started to feel the effects of Dorian, with heavy rain, the
possibility of tornadoes on Tuesday, and a gust of 61 miles (98 kilometers)
per hour reported, the Miami-based NHC said.
In a bulletin, the NHC warned that the flash flood threat in Florida will
increase in the coming days.
More than 9,500 people have taken cover in 121 shelters in Florida,
according to the state’s Division of Emergency Management.
Among them was 30-year-old Stefanie Passieux, who took shelter along with
her two children and mother.
“I came yesterday, as soon as it opened. They said we were in a state of
emergency so I came,” she said.
“My dad is staying with the cats, but we left. He never leaves. He doesn’t
do shelters.”
– Weaker but still dangerous –
At 1000 GMT Tuesday, the hurricane remained stationary, the NHC said,
whipping the Caribbean island with torrential rains and winds of 120 mph (195
kmh), with higher gusts.
The storm is forecast to resume moving northwest overnight.
“Although gradual weakening is forecast, Dorian is expected to remain a
powerful hurricane during the next couple of days,” the NHC said in an
earlier bulletin.
Fear gripped residents of Freeport, as winds tore off shutters and water
began entering homes, Yasmin Rigby said by text from the Grand Bahama
island’s main city.
“People who thought they were safe are now calling for help,” Rigby said.
“My best friend’s husband is stuck in the roof of their house with seven feet
(two meters) water below.”
Initial Red Cross estimates were that 13,000 buildings may have been
damaged or destroyed by Dorian, officials in Geneva said.
Video posted on the website of the Bahamian newspaper Tribune 242 showed
water up to the roofs of wooden houses in what appeared to be a coastal town.
Capsized boats floated in muddy brown water dotted with wooden boards, tree
branches and other debris.
– ‘Get out NOW’ –
The NHC warned of a 10- to 15-foot storm surge above tide levels in parts
of Grand Bahama, accompanied by large and destructive waves, saying that
people on the island should “remain in shelter.”
Water levels in the Abacos, swamped by a similar surge Sunday, were
expected to slowly subside.
“The hurricane will then move dangerously close to the Florida east coast
late Tuesday through Wednesday evening and then move dangerously close to the
Georgia and South Carolina coasts on Wednesday night and Thursday,” the NHC
said.
All three eastern US states have ordered coastal residents to evacuate,
affecting close to a million people.
Neighboring North Carolina has also declared a state of emergency, as has
Virginia further north.
Florida senator and former governor Rick Scott wrote on Twitter that “a
slight wobble West” would bring the storm “on shore with devastating
consequences.”
“If you’re in an evacuation zone, get out NOW. We can rebuild your home.
We can’t rebuild your life.”
On Tuesday, he warned the “life threatening” storm surge and hurricane
force winds would be felt along the state’s coast, and urged people to stay
indoors.
In southern Florida’s Port Saint Lucie — a low-income area where mobile
home parks stood all-but emptied of their residents — Dan Peatle, 78, fled
his retirement community to take shelter in a hotel.
“It makes me sick. I don’t like it,” he told AFP as he stepped outside for
air before the storm closes in.
“I’ve been through seven or eight of them since I’ve been in Florida,
since ’73. And, they’re all the same, you know. Tear everything up, put it
back together.
“But, I chose to live here so I might as well live with it, you know.”