Hurricane Dorian continues sideswipe assault on Florida coast

Sep. 4--Hurricane Dorian remained at Category 2 strength Wednesday with 105 mph winds and higher gusts as it skirted Florida's east coast.

The storm that spent more than two days thrashing the Bahamas finally began moving north on Tuesday, coming closer to Florida overnight. It was moving nearly parallel to the state as it churned offshore Wednesday morning as a weakened hurricane, down from 120 mph winds Tuesday and the deadly Category 5 winds that struck the Bahamas on Sunday.

At 2 p.m. the storm was located 115 miles east-northeast of Jacksonville, moving north-northwest at 9 mph with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and higher gusts. Sustained tropical-storm-force winds were reported in Jacksonville, with a wind gust to 55 mph. In Daytona Beach on Wednesday morning, gawkers stood watching as furious waves crashed on the beach and a power line danced overhead.

"Hurricane Dorian continues to move away from Central Florida this afternoon and the sun is breaking out from behind the clouds," WOFL-FOX 35 meteorologist Brooks Tomlin said after the 2 p.m. update. "We will continue to experience gusty westerly winds through the afternoon and early evening hours. Winds should settle considerably as the sun sets.

"A risk of a few more squally rain showers exists this afternoon, mainly north and northeast of Orlando. The tropical storm warnings in effect for Volusia and Flagler counties will likely expire in the next few hours."

The storm is blamed for three Orange County deaths, though the tropical cyclone never officially made it here. One of the deaths occurred at Disney.

The size of the storm expanded steadily, with hurricane-force winds extending out 70 miles and tropical storm-force winds extending out 175 miles. Outer bands continued to douse Central Florida this morning, especially along the coast from Brevard and Volusia counties and now into northeast Florida.

"Please don't take any chances," Sen. Rick Scott tweeted early Wednesday afternoon. "Stay indoors and away from beaches as water levels will rise this afternoon. It is important to listen to your local officials."

-- News

After Hurricane Dorian, what's open, what's closed in Central Florida

Inland Central Florida saw very little wind and no reports of major damage overnight. Orlando International Airport said it would resume flights at noon today and Orlando Sanford International Airport was to follow suit at 1 p.m.

The hurricane warning from the Volusia-Brevard county line to Ponte Vedra Beach has been changed to a tropical storm warning, and the tropical storm warning south that covered Brevard County has been discontinued. A tropical storm warning is still in place for inland Volusia, Orange and Seminole counties, but the warning that covered Lake County has been discontinued.

A storm surge warning is still in effect for north of Port Canaveral to the North Carolina/Virginia border.

-- Hurricane Dorian News

Central Florida escapes worst of Hurricane Dorian

By Tess Sheets

Sep 04, 2019 -- 1:51 PM

By noon, more than 9,000 customers were without power in the coastal counties of Brevard, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, Duval and Nassau as winds came ashore late Tuesday and today.

The storm's northerly trek comes after relief officials reported scenes of utter ruin Tuesday in parts of the Bahamas, and rushed to deal with an unfolding humanitarian crisis, with the full scope of the disaster still unknown. At least seven deaths were reported there.

For those in or northeast Florida, the National Hurricane Center urged remaining vigilant: "The combined wind, surge, and flood hazards are the same or even worse since the hurricane has become larger."

-- Hurricane Dorian News

Hurricane Dorian stayed off coast, so where is my Orlando Sentinel?

By John Cutter

Sep 04, 2019 -- 5:00 AM

FEMA announced Tuesday afternoon that over 1,600 employees are deployed or on the way to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The National Weather Service in Melbourne got reports of "significant coastal flooding and major beach erosion" from Sebastian Inlet south to Saint Lucie Inlet, along the barrier islands and Intracoastal Waterway.

Bahamas devastation

Bahamians rescued victims of Hurricane Dorian with jet skis and a bulldozer as the U.S. Coast Guard, Britain's Royal Navy and a handful of aid groups tried to get food and medicine to survivors and take the most desperate people to safety.

Airports were flooded and roads impassable after the most powerful storm to hit the Bahamas in recorded history parked over Abaco and Grand Bahama islands, pounding them with winds up to 185 mph and torrential rain before finally moving into open waters Tuesday on a course toward Florida.

-- Hurricane Dorian News

As Hurricane Dorian moves off Bahamas, Central Florida mobilizes relief effort for devastated islands

By Kate Santich and Laura Kinsler

Sep 03, 2019 -- 4:38 PM

The storm's punishing winds and muddy brown floodwaters destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes, crippled hospitals and trapped people in attics.

"It's total devastation. It's decimated. Apocalyptic," said Lia Head-Rigby, who helps run a local hurricane relief group and flew over the Bahamas' hard-hit Abaco Islands. "It's not rebuilding something that was there; we have to start again."

She said her representative on Abaco told her there were "a lot more dead," though she had no numbers as bodies being gathered.

The Bahamas' prime minister also expected more deaths and predicted that rebuilding would require "a massive, coordinated effort."

"We are in the midst of one of the greatest national crises in our country's history," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at a news conference. "No effort or resources will be held back."

State Rep. Shevrin Jones, who is Bahamian-American, called Wednesday on the Trump administration to waive visa requirements for residents of the Bahamas seeking refuge.

Five Coast Guard helicopters ran near-hourly flights to the stricken Abaco, flying more than 20 injured people to the capital's main hospital. British sailors were also rushing in aid. A few private aid groups also tried to reach the battered islands in the northern Bahamas.

"We don't want people thinking we've forgotten them. ... We know what your conditions are," Tammy Mitchell of the Bahamas' National Emergency Management Agency told ZNS Bahamas radio station.

With their heads bowed against heavy wind and rain, rescuers began evacuating people from the storm's aftermath across Grand Bahama island late Tuesday, using jet skis, boats and even a huge bulldozer that cradled children and adults in its digger as it churned through deep waters and carried them to safety.

One rescuer gently scooped up an elderly man in his arms and walked toward a pickup truck waiting to evacuate him and others to higher ground.

Red Cross spokesman Matthew Cochrane said more than 13,000 houses, or about 45% of the homes on Grand Bahama and Abaco, were believed to be severely damaged or destroyed. U.N. officials said more than 60,000 people on the hard-hit islands will need food, and the Red Cross said some 62,000 will need clean drinking water.

"What we are hearing lends credence to the fact that this has been a catastrophic storm and a catastrophic impact," Cochrane said.

Lawson Bates, a staffer for Arkansas-based MedicCorps, flew over Abaco and said: "It looks completely flattened. There's boats way inland that are flipped over. It's total devastation."

The Red Cross authorized $500,000 for the first wave of disaster relief, Cochrane said. U.N. humanitarian teams stood ready to go into the stricken areas to help assess damage and the country's needs, U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said. The U.S. government also sent a disaster response team.

Abaco and Grand Bahama islands, with a combined population of about 70,000, are known for their marinas, golf courses and all-inclusive resorts. To the south, the Bahamas' most populous island, New Providence, which includes the capital city of Nassau and has over a quarter-million people, had little damage.

The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted at least 21 people injured on Abaco. Choppy, coffee-colored floodwaters reached roofs and the tops of palm trees.

"We will confirm what the real situation is on the ground," Health Minister Duane Sands said. "We are hoping and praying that the loss of life is limited."

Sands said Dorian rendered the main hospital on Grand Bahama unusable, while the hospital at Marsh Harbor on Abaco was in need of food, water, medicine and surgical supplies. He said crews were trying to fly out five to seven kidney failure patients from Abaco who had not received dialysis since Friday.

The Grand Bahama airport was under 6 feet of water.

NASA satellite imagery through Monday night showed some places in the Bahamas had gotten as much as 35 inches of rain, said private meteorologist Ryan Maue.

Parliament member Iram Lewis said he feared waters would keep rising and stranded people would lose contact with officials as their cellphone batteries died.

Dorian also left one person dead in its wake in Puerto Rico before slamming into the Bahamas on Sunday. It tied the record for the strongest Atlantic storm ever to hit land, matching the Labor Day hurricane that struck Florida's Gulf Coast in 1935, before storms were given names.

Outages reported

-- Hurricane Dorian News

Hurricane Dorian: Fewer than 5,000 power outages in Central Florida

By Cristóbal Reyes and Adelaide Chen

Sep 04, 2019 -- 5:23 AM

FPL, which services most of Florida's east coast counties, reported power outages popping up along the coastal counties. As of noon Wednesday, FPL reported nearly 6,700 customers without power statewide. Winds have to be under 35 mph for FPL trucks to service power outages. The company addressed more than 80,000 power outage calls since Sunday.

Evacuation orders had been issued by most counties for coastal areas from Palm Beach County north to the Florida-Georgia border, but have been lifted as far north as Brevard County as of Wednesday morning as the storm headed north.

Orange and Osceola County government offices and courts remain closed Wednesday because of Hurricane Dorian.

SunRail still plans to be shut down through Friday, and Amtrak has canceled multiple trains through Tuesday. Lynx buses will be up and running on Wednesday and Thursday, Orange County officials said Tuesday.

Port Canaveral and JaxPort remain closed Wednesday, but PortMiami and Port Everglades reopened Tuesday.

Central Florida school systems had already canceled classes for Tuesday, as did area colleges and universities. Brevard County public schools will remain closed through Thursday. The UCF campus is closed through Thursday. Rollins College hopes to reopen Thursday with classes resuming on Friday. Valencia College will be closed through Thursday.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fernand formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and Tropical Storm Gabrielle formed in the far east Atlantic this morning.

Staff writers Gabrielle Russon, Gray Rohrer, Lisa Maria Garza, Tess Sheets, David Harris, Stephen Hudak and the Associated Press and Anthony Man of the Sun Sentinel contributed to this story.

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