Hurricane Dorian has set its sights on Grand Bahama island, almost seemingly intent on erasing it from the map. It slowly moved across the eastern part of the island, then stalling over the central part – initially a Category 5 system, slowly weakening to a still major Category 3 system. Some areas of the island were exposed to maximum winds for over 12 hours, far longer than typical for hurricane landfalls. Additionaly, major storm surge inundated large parts of the island. Reports indicate total devastation, with buildings in some areas levelled to the ground. We look at the first reports and videos from the area.
This is a 24 hr loop. The total distance traveled of the center of the eye of #Dorian was just ~ 30 miles #Bahamas pic.twitter.com/dqNBfyarU3
— Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) September 3, 2019
Storm surge locally reached 6-7 m, inundating large parts of Grand Bahama. Satellite radar imagery indicated more than half the area around Freeport was under water.
#HurricaneDorian has affected Bahamas heavily on Monday, with vast areas hit with #flooding, including the Grand Bahama International Airport, Freeport. ICEYE #SAR satellite image from 11:44AM local time. Please, stay safe! (Y: coastline. W: roads. Source: OpenStreetMap.) pic.twitter.com/ruXau8QhKn
— ICEYE (@iceyefi) September 2, 2019
Dorian was already moving very slowly while crossing the eastern part of Grand Bahama, grinding to a complete halt over the central part and persisting there for many hours.
A hurricane slinky: Track and radius of maximum winds for #Hurricane #Dorian, using the satellite estimates from ARCHER (https://t.co/92WIBZTsg7)
Thanks for the suggestion @RyanMaue! pic.twitter.com/tH6SkMW8kP— Sam Lillo (@splillo) September 3, 2019
Here is the total duration any given location has spent inside the radius of maximum wind, so far.
Portions of Grand Bahama are around 10 to 15 hours. Approaching 20 hours just offshore. And #Dorian continues to sit stationary.
(h/t @burgwx for suggesting this viz) pic.twitter.com/lNs87cTauy
— Sam Lillo (@splillo) September 3, 2019
Video reports show violent winds and extremely high storm surge, pushing people into higher stories of buildings or even just under the roof:
Only cars in Abaco island, no houses 🤦🏻♂️🌪🌊🌧 Credits – unknown #dorian #abaco #hurricane #freeport #florida #miami #flood #palmbeach #nc #sc #georgia pic.twitter.com/6wqxy7Admf
— Javier (@drpavito1) September 3, 2019
Abaco Bahamas woke up to this #HurricaneDorian2019 pic.twitter.com/o15Yf6EJMU
— KISHON TURNER (@revel75) September 2, 2019
#FREEPORT, BAHAMAS: Family Trapped In Attic as #Dorian Storm Surge Rises
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 2, 2019
Minister of Agriculture and Marco City MP Michael Pintard, who lives on Grand Bahama, showing some utterly frightening footage of his home during the passage of Hurricane Dorian. pic.twitter.com/gugVsLMroB
— Travis C-Carroll (@TravisCC) September 2, 2019
My front yard!! #HurricaneDorian2019 keep praying!! We waiting for the eye of the hurricane so they can come save us!! pic.twitter.com/xpNoksbvyG
— LaToy Williams (@Toy242) September 2, 2019
Only cars in Abaco island, no houses 🤦🏻♂️🌪🌊🌧 Credits – unknown #dorian #abaco #hurricane #freeport #florida #miami #flood #palmbeach #nc #sc #georgia pic.twitter.com/6wqxy7Admf
— Javier (@drpavito1) September 3, 2019
L’ouragan #Dorian actuellement en catégorie 3 est toujours quasi stationnaire au nord-est de #Freeport sur Grand Bahama. Au moins 5 personnes sont décédées au #Bahamas. Vidéo via Jonathan RiversKirby #HurricaneDorian pic.twitter.com/8aE016nQJR
— Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) September 3, 2019
WATCH: Grand Bahama International Airport as Hurricane Dorian hits the island pic.twitter.com/D7B87ZEQHb
— BNO News (@BNONews) September 2, 2019
THE HOME OF MINISTER OF ARGICULTURE MICHAEL PINTARD IN GRAND BAHAMA pic.twitter.com/JuDUEcwY0j
— Latrae Rahming (@p0sitivechange) September 2, 2019
#BREAKING: Video from Grand Bahama Island as Hurricane #Dorian passes over. Water is up to the roofs of houses of over 10 feet of water has covered large parts of the island. pic.twitter.com/nZImNEe7nI
— The Up2Dater (@UptoDateNewz) September 2, 2019
* I do not own this video, nor did I take it. A resident on Grand Bahama shows the horror unfolding inside his home during Hurricane Dorian. pic.twitter.com/lJ2GQDBTrG
— Travis C-Carroll (@TravisCC) September 2, 2019
High storm surge with floating vehicles speaks volumes to the conditions on Grand Bahama island. Hurricane Dorian is stationary and is a strong 140mph killer storm.#dorian #Grandbahama #Hurricane pic.twitter.com/qgz2yJuT38
— Bahamas Press (@Bahamaspress) September 3, 2019
Conditions of a Grand Bahama resident early this morning as Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the northern Bahamas packing winds of 185mph pic.twitter.com/i2AlHRWDdY
— Bahamas Press (@Bahamaspress) September 2, 2019
BP BREAKING| Serious Hurricane Damage in Abaco today as Dorian moves on land at 185mph… pic.twitter.com/JizKX6hHpe
— Bahamas Press (@Bahamaspress) September 1, 2019