Dorian slams the Bahamas; southeastern U.S. states keep wary eye on its catastrophic course

A treacherous Category 5 Hurricane Dorian bashed the northern Bahamas Sunday, with record winds ripping rooftops, tossing cars and downing power lines, as millions of wary residents from Florida to the Carolinas tracked its expected veer north and march up the southeastern U.S. coastline.

Dorian's maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts up to 220 mph tied the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to come ashore, equaling a 1935 Labor Day hurricane that hit before storms were named.

Dorian slammed into Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands at 12:40 p.m., and made a second landfall near Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island at 2 p.m. Thousands of Bahamians hunkered down as the storm tore roofs off buildings, flipped over cars and downed power lines.

"It's devastating," said Joy Jibrilu, director general of the Bahamas' Ministry of Tourism and Aviation. "There has been huge damage to property and infrastructure. Luckily, no loss of life reported."

After the Bahamas, the slow-crawling storm was forecast to turn sharply and head toward the U.S. coast, staying just off Florida and Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday and then buffeting South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday.

The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning from Jupiter Inlet, Fla., to the Brevard and Volusia County, Fla., line just after 5 p.m. Sunday.

"Life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of the Florida east coast through mid-week, and storm surge and hurricane warnings are in effect. Only a slight deviation to the left of the official forecast would bring the core of Dorian near or over the Florida east coast," the Center said in a statement.

The coasts of southern states, including Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, are facing "an increasing likelihood" of a "strong winds and dangerous storm surge" as the hurricane moves over the Bahamas toward the U.S.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned, noting some forecast models still bring Dorian close to or even onto the Florida peninsula.

"That could produce life-threatening storm surge and hurricane force winds," DeSantis said. "That cone of uncertainty still includes a lot of areas on the east coast of Florida and even into central and north Florida, so we are staying prepared and remaining vigilant."

But it could all come down to a handful of miles between relative safety and potential devastation. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dorian is forecast to be 40 to 50 miles off the Florida with hurricane-force wind speeds extending about 35 miles to the west.

National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham urged residents not to bet on safety just because a forecast track may put the storm offshore.

"We keep nudging (Dorian's track) a little bit to the left" which is closer to the Florida coast, Graham said.

Farther up the coast, the governors of Georgia and South Carolina ordered evacuations of coastal areas.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said state troopers would start reversing lanes on major coastal roads so they all head inland Monday afternoon.

Many of South Carolina's coastal residents were evacuating for the fourth time in four years. Just one storm hit the state directly during that time -- Matthew in 2016. McMaster addressed the storm weariness on Sunday evening as he announced the upcoming evacuations.

"We can't make everybody happy. But we believe we can keep everyone alive," the governor said.

President Trump already declared a state of emergency and was briefed about what he called a "monstrous" storm.

In the Bahamas, thousands had to evacuate ahead of Dorian's direct hit, while tourists were sent to government shelters in churches, schools and other buildings.

But Jack Pittard, a 76-year-old American who has visited the Bahamas for 40 years, decided to stay and ride it out in the Abaco Islands. He said it was his first hurricane.

A short video from Pittard about 2:30 p.m. showed winds shaking his home and ripping off its siding.

"I'm not afraid of dying here," said Pittard, who lives in Lexington, Ky.

Jeffrey Allen, who lives in Freeport on Grand Bahama, said he long ago learned it's better to be safe than sorry.

"It's almost as if you wait with anticipation, hoping that it's never as bad as they say it will be. However, you prepare for the worst nonetheless," he said.

With News Wire Services

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