Dorian slammed into Elbow Cay in Abaco island at 12.40pm on Sunday local time , and then made a second landfall near Marsh Harbour at 2pm, after authorities made last-minute pleas for those in low-lying areas to evacuate."It's devastating," said Joy Jibrilu, director general of the Bahamas' Ministry of Tourism and Aviation. "There has been huge damage to property and infrastructure. Luckily, no loss of life reported.
The only recorded storm that was more powerful was Hurricane Allen in 1980, with 305 km/h winds. That storm did not make landfall at the strength. In some parts of Abaco, "you cannot tell the difference as to the beginning of the street versus where the ocean begins," said Prime Minister Hubert Minnis.
"The end could be fatal," said Samuel Butler, assistant police commissioner. "We ask you, we beg you, we plead with you to get to a place of safety." Earlier on Saturday, skiffs shuttled between outlying fishing villages and McLean's Town, a settlement of a few dozen homes at the eastern end of Grand Bahama island, about 240 kilometres from Florida's Atlantic coast. Most came from Sweetings Cay.
Over two or three days, the hurricane could dump as much as 1 metre of rain, in addition to the winds and storm surge, said private meteorologist Ryan Maue. The National Hurricane Centre issued a hurricane watch for Florida's East Coast from Deerfield Beach north to the Volusia and Brevard county line. The same area was put under a storm surge watch. Lake Okeechobee was under a tropical storm watch.