Hurricane Dorian slammed the northern Bahamas as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, with 185 mph winds tearing down power lines and ripping off roofs. Gusts have reached 220. The storm surge is between 18 and 23 feet above normal tide levels. For the curious, videos reportedly from the Bahamas are embedded toward the end of this post.
Put another way: It’s the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane since 1950, leading authorities to urge people in low-lying areas to evacuate. Many are in shelter in local churches and schools. Mind you, the island’s infrastructure does not make it easy to find reliable shelter for a storm of this magnitude, so while people are urged to evacuate, not everyone is able to, especially those who might have disabilities or other barriers that make it harder. Shaming people who don’t (or more realistically, can’t) evacuate does nothing to help them.
On the northwestern Bahamas, it looks like it’s the strongest hurricane hit on record. The National Hurricane Center said that the Abaco Islands experienced catastrophic conditions as Dorian hit.
Hubert Minnis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, said Sunday was "the saddest day of my life."
“Now is not a time to panic now is the time to plan how to get the recovery started. Hope Town Fire and Rescue will be heading up the efforts for recovery,” the Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department posted to social media Sunday afternoon.
And for the United States? It’s changing pretty constantly, but right now, it appears that Dorian may avoid making a direct hit on the coastal U.S. However, it looks like it’s moving closer to Florida’s east coast, particularly late on Monday. As of Sunday, south Florida is likely to experience rain and wind for sure. Broward and Palm Beach counties are possible courses for the center of the storm—Palm Beach County ordered evacuations of the barrier islands, among other high-risk areas, on Sunday.
And yes: Mar-a-Lago is included in that.
"This storm is one of the strongest storms that has ever threatened Florida," Governor Ron DeSantis told The Weather Channel. "It's now strengthened to where it's stronger than what Hurricane Andrew was. It's stronger than Hurricane Michael. This is a major, major threat to the east coast of Florida." He has also mandated that tolls on major highways be suspended.
For areas north of Deerfield Beach to the Volusia-Brevard county line there is a hurricane watch in effect.
The Florida Department of Corrections confirmed that about 900 inmates had been evacuated to facilities better equipped to withstand Dorian.
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office issued a mandatory evacuation, going into effect Monday at 8 a.m. EST, for people in mobile homes, living in barrier islands, flood-prone areas, or with disabilities. There will be public shelters available, including for those who need to bring their pets or have special medical needs.
Dorian is also likely to impact South Carolina’s coast on either Wednesday or Thursday. Given these forecasts, states of emergency have also been put into effect for the entirety of Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. 12 counties in Georgia are also under a state of emergency.
Wondering what Trump has said? Surprising no one, nothing good. He proclaimed that he’s not sure if he’s ever heard of a Category 5 storm.
Here’s that clip:
Mind you, within his presidency alone, Irma, Maria, and Michael have clocked in at Category 5. Before this, Katrina also qualified.
He took to Twitter, of course:
Seems like GOD BLESS EVERYONE! is the “thoughts and prayers” of natural disasters.
If you can bear to watch, here’s a video of him urging people to evacuate:
Here are some videos reportedly from on the ground in the Bahamas:
If you’re impacted by the storm and have a weak connection, you can follow text-only updates from CNN here. CNN also as a storm tracker (definitely not text-only) you can follow here.
