In a slow, relentless vance, a catastrophic Hurricane Dorian kept pounding at rrn Bahamas on September 2, as one of strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded left wrecked homes, shredded roofs, tumbled cars and toppled power poles in its wake. storm’s top sustained winds decreased slightly to 180 mph (285 kph) while it spun along Grand Bahama island overnight in what forecasters said would be a daylong assault. Earlier, Dorian churned over Abaco island with battering winds and surf during Sunday. re was little information from affected islands, though officials expected many residents to be left homeless. Most people went to shelters as storm approached, with tourist hotels shutting down and residents boarded up ir homes.“It’s devastating,” Joy Jibrilu, director-general of Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, said Sunday afteron. “re has been huge dam to property and infrastructure. Luckily, loss of life reported.”

Dorian's dangerous pace

On Sunday, Dorian’s maximum sustained winds reached 185 mph (297 kph), with gusts up to 220 mph (354 kph), tying record for most powerful Atlantic hurricane to ever make landfall. That equaled Labor Day hurricane of 1935 before storms were named. only recorded storm that was more powerful was Hurricane Allen in 1980, with 190 mph (305 kph) winds, though it did t make landfall at that strength. As of early Monday, hurricane’s westward movement h slowed somewhat to 5 mph (7 kph).

Forecasters said Dorian was most likely to begin pulling away from Bahamas early Tuesday and curving to rast parallel to U.S. Souast seaboard. Still, potent storm was expected to stay close to shore and hammer coast with dangerous winds and heavy surf, while authorities cautioned that it could still make landfall. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an order Sunday for mandatory evacuation of his state’s entire coast. order, which covers about 830,000 people, was to take effect at on Monday, at which point state troopers were to make all lanes on major coastal highways one-way heing inland.“We can’t make everybody happy, but we believe we can keep everyone alive,” McMaster said.

RE: Fierce Category 4 Hurricane Dorian Menaces Bahamas En Route To Florida

Mandatory evacuations ordered

A few hours later, Georgia’s goverr, Brian Kemp, ordered mandatory evacuations for that state’s Atlantic coast, also starting at midday Monday. Authorities in Florida ordered mandatory evacuations in some vulnerable coastal areas. rth Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper warned his state that it could see heavy rain, winds, and floods later in week. Dorian first came ashore Sunday at Elbow Cay in Abaco island at 12:40 p.m., n me a second landfall near Marsh Harbour at 2 p.m. “Catastrophic conditions” were reported in Abaco, with a storm surge of 18-23 feet (5.5-7 meters).

video that Jibrilu and government spokesman Kevin Harris said was sent by Abaco residents showed homes missing parts of roofs, electric lines on ground and smashed and overturned cars. One showed floodwaters rushing through streets of an unidentified town at nearly height of a car roof.

In some parts of Abaco, “you cant tell difference as to beginning of street versus where ocean begins,” Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said. According to Nassau Guardian, he called it “probably sdest and worst day of my life to dress Bahamian people. ”Bahamas rio station ZNS Bahamas reported that a mor and child on Grand Bahama h called to say y were sheltering in a closet and seeking help from police.

RE: Hurricane Dorian: Florida Prepares For 'absolute Monster' Storm

Silbert Mills, owner of Bahamas Christian Network, said trees and power lines were torn down in Abaco. “ winds are howling as we’ve never, ever experienced before,” said Mills, who was riding out hurricane with his family in concrete home he built 41 years ago on central Abaco. Jack Pittard, a 76-year-old American who has visited Bahamas for 40 years, also decided to stay put on Abaco for Dorian, which he said was his first hurricane. A short video from Pittard about 2:30 p.m. Sunday showed wind shaking his home and ripping off siding. Bahamas archipelago is stranger to hurricanes. Homes are required to have metal reinforcements for roof beams to withstand winds into upper limits of a Category 4 hurricane, and compliance is generally tight for those who can afford it. Risks are higher in poorer neighborhoods, with wooden homes in low-lying areas.

Hurricane watch issued

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dorian is forecast to be 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 kilometers) off Florida, with hurricane-force wind speeds extending about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to west. U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for Florida’s East Coast from Deerfield Beach rth to Georgia state line. same area was put under a storm surge watch. Lake Okeechobee was under a tropical storm watch. Mandatory evacuation orders for low-lying and flood-prone areas and mobile homes were in effect starting eir Sunday or Monday from Palm Beach County rth to at least Daytona Beach area, and some counties to rth issued voluntary evacuation tices. Weekend traffic was light in Florida despite those orders, unlike during chaotic run-up to Hurricane Irma in 2017 when unusually bro storm menaced entire state.

RE: Hurricane Dorian Hes Toward Florida, Residents Brace mselves

Ken Graham, director of hurricane center, urged people t to bet on safety just because forecast track h storm a bit offshore. With every new forecast, “we keep nudging (Dorian’s track) a little bit to left” — that is, is closer to Florida coast, Graham said. President Donald Trump alrey declared a state of emergency and was briefed about what he called a “monstrous” storm.“We don’t kw where it’s going to hit but we have an idea, probably a little bit different than original course,” Trump said. “But it can change its course again and it can go back more toward Florida.”

RE: Hurricane Dorian: $260 Million, Emergency Fund Approved In Puerto Rico