Hurricane Dorian batters Bahamas, nears Florida

Bloomberg

Hurricane Dorian, tied as the most powerful storm to hit land anywhere in the Atlantic, battered the Bahamas inflicting colossal damage to property and infrastructure across the chain of islands.
The hurricane was packing winds with maximum sustained speeds of 165 mile-per-hour and a storm surge that could top 23 feet, potentially leaving the islands devastated for years. The fate of Florida remains uncertain as the storm churns in the ocean just 115 miles away. Dorian is expected to cause at least $25 billion in losses for insurers.
The storm ripped off roofs, overturned cars and tore down power lines in the Bahamas, the Associated Press reported. A seven-year-old boy was reported to have drowned in the Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas, according to a Twitter post by Bahamas Press — the fatality could not immediately be confirmed. The storm is about 40 miles (65 kilometres) from Freeport, Grand Bahama.
“This is probably the most sad and worst day of my life to address the Bahamian people,” Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said while crying during a press conference at the headquarters of the National Emergency Management Agency, The Nassau Guardian reported. “This will put us through a test that we’ve never confronted before.”
Minnis said that homes in the Bahamas are built to withstand winds as strong as 150 miles per hour and the islands have never before faced a hurricane like Dorian, according to the paper. In some places that are facing the brunt of the storm, it wasn’t possible to tell the difference between the beginning of the street and the ocean, it cited him as saying. Despite evacuation orders for those in vulnerable areas, many people hadn’t heeded the warning, he said.
“I wouldn’t want to be on the Abaco Islands, they are going to have 12 to 15 hours of hurricane force winds with only the eye as the respite,” said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground, an IBM business. “Everything in that eye is going to get totaled. It is going to take them years, if not a decade, to recover.”
Its maximum sustained winds were 165 mph at 5 am local time, the National Hurricane Center said, describing the situation as “life-threatening.”
Winds were earlier recorded at 185 mph, which tied the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, which crushed the Florida Keys, as the strongest storm ever to hit land anywhere in the Atlantic, said Maureen O’Leary, spokeswoman for the National Weather Service.
Roughly 100,000 of the Bahamas population of 370,000 live in areas that would be hit by the storm, said Kevin Peter Turnquest, the country’s deputy prime minister, adding in a response to queries that Abaco suffered “severe destruction of homes and infrastructure.” The Bahamian government was preparing orders to allow donated relief supplies to move quickly to areas that need it most, local Eyewitness News reported on its website.
While the devastation mounts in the Bahamas, the threat to Florida and the US East Coast remains uncertain. A storm surge warning is in effect from Lantana, about 60 miles north of Miami, up to the Volusia/Brevard county line.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the Jupiter Inlet, also up to Volusia/Brevard. While many people focus on winds, most hurricane deaths are caused by storm surge and drowning from flooding.

US is prepared for Dorian, says Mike Pence
Bloomberg

The US is ready for a huge storm in the Atlantic and President Donald Trump made the right decision by staying home to monitor the hurricane instead of flying to Europe, Vice President Mike Pence said.
“The US is prepared and the president is where he needs to be,” Pence said in Warsaw during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda. The vice president is filling in for Trump after he canceled his trip to the NATO ally amid concern that Hurricane Dorian could cause widespread damage to the southern Atlantic states.
Pence said the US relationship with Poland has “never been stronger” and that the locations of joint military bases have been finalised.
The Trump administration planned to nominate Poland for its visa-waiver programme as soon as the eastern European country completes the requirements, he said.