Dorian Approaches, American States Brace for Damaging Storm

Hours ago, hurricane Dorian crashed into the Bahamas as the second strongest Atlantic storm on record and inched closer to the United States.

The U.S. National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands as a Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 km per hour) and gusts of more than 220 mph (354 kph). It made a second landfall on Great Abaco Island near Marsh Harbour.

Millions of people from Florida to North Carolina were bracing for damaging storms, torrential rains and floods, while many were already evacuating.

"A Florida landfall is still a distinct possibility," the Miami-based NHC warned.

In Florida, at least seven counties issued mandatory evacuations for some residents, including those in mobile homes, on barrier islands and in low-lying areas.

Video circulated on social media by residents on Abaco showed flood waters halfway up the sides of single-family homes with parts of the roofs torn off. Car alarms blared across the island, which was littered with twisted metal and splintered wood.

Forecasters predicted up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain and 23-foot (7-meter) storm surges from the category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale.

“On Great Guana Cay, just off Great Abaco Island, waves began washing over low-lying parts of the tiny 9-mile (14-km) strand of land that is only about a quarter-mile wide by mid-morning,” resident Tom Creenan said.

With winds at 185 mph, Dorian ties with Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the 1935 Labour Day hurricane for the second strongest Atlantic hurricane on record based on maximum sustained winds. “Allen in 1980 was the most powerful with 190-mph winds,” the NHC said.

According to Reuters, Dorian is the strongest hurricane on record to hit the northwestern Bahamas.

On his part, President Donald Trump stated that the storm would likely impact the eastern seaboard from Florida to North Carolina.

"This looks monstrous," Trump said during a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "This looks like it could be larger than all of them."

“FEMA is moving food, water and generators into the southeastern United States,” said acting Administrator Peter Gaynor.

"When it comes to response, we are more than ready to deal with anything that Dorian delivers us this year, or any other storm that may come this season," he told CNN.

“Meanwhile, a new tropical storm has formed southwest of Mexico and is expected to become a hurricane on Monday. Tropical Storm Juliette is 455 miles (735 km) from Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph),” the NHC said on Sunday.