Hurricane Dorian Strikes Bahamas with Record Fury as Category 5 Storm

By AP. Hurricane Dorian struck the northern Bahamas on Sunday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, its record 185 mph winds ripping off roofs and tearing down power lines as hundreds hunkered in schools, churches and other shelters.

Dorian hit land in Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands at 12:40 p.m., and then made a second landfall near Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island at 2 p.m., after authorities made last-minute pleas for those in low-lying areas to evacuate. . .

With its maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 kph), it tied the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to come ashore, equaling the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, before the storms were named. (Read more from “Dorian Strikes Bahamas with Record Fury as Category 5 Storm” HERE)

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‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Dorian Could Linger for Days After Landfall in Bahamas

By NBC News. Hurricane Dorian, a slow-moving, devastating Category 5 storm, made landfall on Sunday in the northwest Bahamas, where “catastrophic effects” were expected, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was forecast to have a long life, remaining a hurricane for the next five days. Hurricane watches and warnings were issued Sunday afternoon for parts of the Florida coast, where Dorian was expected to move “dangerously close” beginning Monday night through Tuesday night, forecasters said. . .

Twelve to 24 inches of rain, and up to 30 inches in some areas, were expected in the northwestern Bahamas, which could lead to life-threatening flash floods, the center said. The Tourism Ministry said only certain parts of the northwestern Bahamas had conducted evacuation procedures, and it strongly advised visitors to leave. . .

At 7 p.m. ET, Dorian was about 70 miles east of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. It was moving west at just 5 mph and was expected to continue inching westward to west-northwest for the next day or two. Forecasters said it would then likely gradually turn northwest, meaning the core of the storm “will continue to pound Great Abaco this evening and move near or over Grand Bahama Island tonight and Monday.”

Bahamanian authorities said Sunday night that they had lost contact with the Abaco Islands because of an island-wide power failure that knocked out most telephone service. And they said they feared that Grand Bahama Island could be hit even harder. (Read more from “‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Dorian Could Linger for Days After Landfall in Bahamas” HERE)

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