The highly dangerous hurricane „Dorian“ is hit with destructive wind speeds of nearly 300 kilometers per hour in the northern Bahamas. First television images of the archipelago southeast of the US state of Florida showed a picture of devastation – covered houses, fallen trees and dramatic floods.
„Dorian“ swept past yesterday (local time) over the islands of Great Abaco and Great Bahama and should move from there slowly west towards Florida. The full extent of the damage in the Bahamas was initially unpredictable. Experts from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami warned that „catastrophic destruction“ is to be feared. The islands just above sea level threatened life-threatening storm tides of up to seven meters in height and heavy rains.
Second strongest hurricane since recording began
The authorities of the island state, with around 400,000 inhabitants, had asked tens of thousands of inhabitants to move into shelters or higher elevations. According to the NHC, „Dorian“ is the second largest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin since records began.
The storm hits the US on an extended weekend – today is a holiday there. Several Florida locations have already arranged evacuations for coastal and deeper areas. The same applies to coastal areas in Georgia. Also in South and North Carolina during the week with strong winds, heavy rains and floods can be expected.
