Hurricane Dorian: Strongest storm of 2019 batters the Bahamas

World Today

GOES16-Dorian PHOTO/NOAA.GOVGOES16-Dorian PHOTO/NOAA.GOV

It’s the strongest Atlantic storm to make landfall in nearly 85 years. Hurricane Dorian is causing catastrophic damage in the northern Bahamas.

It’s still battering the islands as it heads slowly for the United States.

CGTN’s Gerald Tan reports.

Lingering at a standstill over the Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian unleashes its slow torture.

The second strongest Atlantic storm on record is pummeling the islands with blinding rain and ferocious winds up to 270 kilometers an hour (168 mph).

The government is urging people to stay indoors because emergency services can’t reach anyone in trouble.

An emotional Hubert Minnis, the Bahamian Prime Minister, said, “This is probably the most sad and worst day of my life to address the Bahamian people. And I just want to say that as a physician I’ve been trained to withstand many things but never anything like this.”

The storm has spared nothing. Roofs ripped off; trees uprooted; vehicles toppled.

Widespread flooding is reported across the islands. But with power cuts and disruption to internet service, information is scant.

Video taken from inside the hurricane’s eye show an equally terrifying picture: the storm sustaining its intensity and churning an uncertain path towards the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump said, “We don’t even know what’s coming out. All we know is it’s possibly the biggest I have, not sure, I’m not sure that I’ve even heard of a Category 5.”

Residents along the U.S. southeastern coast are on high alert, stocking up and hunkering down.

The National Hurricane Center warns Dorian will be a serious threat in the days ahead.