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Hurricane Dorian strengthened on Sunday to face a Category 5 storm and targeted the north of the Bahamas archipelago, leaving residents struggling to find shelter as they prepared for the rising waters and torrential rains.
As dawn erupted and the first winds were blowing over the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands, National Hurricane Center forecasters reported in a bulletin that the maximum winds sustained by the storm had reached 160 km / h, which they described as of a "catastrophic" storm.
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Dorian is the strongest hurricane ever recorded in northwestern Bahamas, the hurricane center said, with sustained maximum winds reaching 180 km / h. and bursts of more than 170 m.p.h. He warned that "extreme winds and storm surges will continue for several hours".
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Saturday that 73,000 residents and 21,000 homes would be affected. Dorian, who was moving slowly westward, was supposed to slow down the passage of the Bahamas, a region proud to resist strong storms.
But the storm brings more dangers than most.
"A prolonged period of life-threatening storm, devastating hurricane – heavy winds and heavy rains are likely to produce flash floods threatening life," said the National Hurricane Center.
The storm has grown, said the center, with winds extending upward at a distance of 45 miles from the center. Meteorologists have also warned of a storm surge that raise water levels up to 18 feet above normal and diffuse more than two feet of rain in some areas.
"We will pray and hope for the best, but we anticipate the worst," said Michael Pintard, Bahamian Minister of Agriculture, in a text Saturday night.
Residents moved into schools, churches and other emergency shelters, but some feared that some would try to brave the storm at home.
Frankie Fleuridor, an activist who works with the Haitian community in Marsh Harbor on Great Abaco, feared that not everyone could leave. "Some people say that they will not go because they have nowhere to go," he said on Saturday.
"It's hard for slum dwellers," he said. Their plywood houses are not built to withstand hurricane winds and are vulnerable to flooding. He stated that he had rented hotel rooms for the most vulnerable, but that he could not afford to do more. "I'm at the maximum," he says.
Minnis, the prime minister, warned residents of the most vulnerable regions to climb on Friday, but the Nassau Guardian reported on Saturday that residents of Sweeting Cay, a fishing village east of Grand Bahama, were unsuccessful and calling for help.
Mr. Pintard, the Minister of Agriculture, traveled Saturday to the island of Grand Bahama in a last-minute effort to help the locals. Many homes are still damaged by Hurricane Matthew, who hit the island two years ago. He brought a team of workers to nail plywood to roofs, windows and doors.
He expressed concern that many of the damaged homes would be exposed to "heavy showers and hurricane rains" and that he was short of hand-in-hand. work and plywood.
The slow pace of the storm and the vulnerability of low-lying islands to flooding have also added to these concerns.
Thousands of people are at risk of losing their home – their "lifelong investment," he said, adding that "catastrophic damage" would shut down businesses and eliminate jobs, "for which we are badly off prepared. "
Tourism is a pillar of the Bahamian economy, but the region directly affected by the storm is not the center of the industry. Many hotels in Grand Bahama and Abaco Islands were closed for the low season.
Among those open was Abaco Beach Resort in Marsh Harbor. Most of the tourists were gone, but some were considering braving with editorial teams, insurance officials, business travelers, and some local residents who had booked rooms.
"It's an emergency business, not as usual," said Rick Lohr, general manager of the hotel.
Mr Lohr said the hotel had a generator and enough food and water, but he was nevertheless cautious.
"Many people have generators and plans for this because we are very susceptible to storms, but it's a big one," he said. "You never take them for granted."
"It's so slow that you do not know where he's going to go," he added. "It can cause a lot of damage."
The Bahamas Meteorology Department said it expects the eye of the storm to pass over the Abaco Islands Sunday afternoon and move over Grand Bahama during the night.
As the storm approached north of Abaco, water began to break over the dike at Cooper's Town, according to video shared by residents and published on the Bahamas Broadcasting Corporation's Twitter feed. The Nassau Guardian has announced that many residents of Great Guana Cay, one of the most eastern Abaco Islands in the country, have refused to evacuate.
Troy Albury, a resident of Great Guana Cay, told the newspaper that there were about 150 people on the island. "Our house is built solid," he said. "It's over 15 feet above sea level. My house is not going anywhere. "
"We went through four storms."
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