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First Deaths From Hurricane Dorian Confirmed in Bahamas

VOA News

   Few in the Bahamas will be able to sleep tonight with Hurricane Dorian
   stalled over Grand Bahama Island, pounding it overnight with fierce
   winds and massive rainfall.

   Prime Minister Hubert Minnis has confirmed at least five deaths on the
   Bahamas' Abaco Island, calling the destruction in the northern Bahamas
   "unprecedented and extensive."

   Dorian is the strongest Atlantic hurricane to strike land in 84 years
   and the worst ever to hit the Bahamas.

   "The images and videos we are seeing are heartbreaking," he said at a
   news conference in Nassau. "Many homes, businesses, and other buildings
   have been completely or partially destroyed. There is an extraordinary
   amount of flooding and damage to infrastructure."

   Minnis says the U.S. National Guard is on Abaco to help with rescues,
   but the major rescue efforts will have to wait until the storm eases.

   "I ask Bahamians and residents on islands not devastated by this
   monster storm to open their homes to friends, families, and others who
   may be in need. This is the time for us as Bahamians to show our love,
   our care, and our compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters."

   Dorian is a Category 4 hurricane with top sustained winds downgraded
   slightly late Monday to 225 kilometers per hour.

   Meteorologists say the wind currents high in the atmosphere that
   dictate the direction a hurricane will move have been completely calm
   above Dorian, keeping the storm parked over the Bahamas.

   But forecasters predict Dorian will remain a Category 4 as drifts
   "dangerously close" to the east coast of Florida late Tuesday and
   Georgia and South Carolina coasts Wednesday and Thursday.

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