NASSAU, Bahamas -- Hurricane Dorian’s winds are strong. The storm surge is being described as life-threatening and as one of the most powerful storms in the Atlantic ever recorded sits on top of the Bahamas, residents riding out the storm are sharing videos from their perspective.
The Category 5 Hurricane is moving slowly over the Bahamas, dropping heavy rain. Widespread flooding is being reported and live cameras that typically show the beaches are offline.
"The Bahamas is an archipelago with more than 700 islands and cays, spread over 100,000 square miles, which means that the effects of Hurricane Dorian will vary greatly. We are deeply concerned about our northern islands, yet are relieved that most of the nation, including Nassau and Paradise Island, will remain unaffected," Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation Director General Joy Jibrilu said ahead of the storm.
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Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas Sunday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph with gusts over 220 mph. It's tied for the strongest Atlantic hurricane landfall on record, according to the National Hurricane Center. At the 8:00 a.m. update from the National Weather Service, the storm was moving just 1 mph to the west.
An account for an entertainment promoter in the Bahamas, @mvp242 on Twitter shared video from Freeport, Bahamas of flooded cars, trucks and SUVs. In the seven-second clip posted Monday morning, the water is up to the windows on the vehicles.
Another Twitter user @john_20975 posted videos from inside his flooded home as he and his family evacuated to their neighbor’s two-story home. In a series of videos, he describes his home.
“The windows are broken and now water is coming through those big windows you see over there,” he said.
“Water is everywhere. The kitchen is destroyed. Water is up to basically the cabinets. Everything is just in ruins. All the wooden floors came up. It’s a disaster,” he said while shining a flashlight on his flooded home.
In the United States, governors in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina have issued mandatory evacuations for counties that could be affected by the story as it continues to move.
By late Monday night, it is expected to be "dangerously close" to Florida's east coast, according to the National Hurricane Center, and will continue tracking along that way through Wednesday.
The agency said there is an "increasing likelihood of strong winds and dangerous storm surge along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina later this week."
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