Boy, 7, dies as monster Hurricane Dorian smashes into Bahamas with 220mph winds
Hurricane Dorian is expected to cause catastrophic damage (Pictures: REX/Getty) A catastrophic hurr..
A catastrophic hurricane has slammed into the Bahamas with winds of up to 220mph and storm surge waves measuring 20ft above normal tide levels.
Life-threatening Catergory 5 Hurricane Dorian is expected to cause widespread flooding on Grand Bahama Island before it barrels towards the US.
The National Hurricane Centre this morning tweeted to say the monster storm will cause extreme destruction and continue for several hours.
This morning the Bahamas Press reported that a boy aged 7 was the first person known to have died in the hurricane.
It reports Lachino Mcintosh drowned while his family attempted to leave their home in the Abacos, Bahamas.
His sister is missing, the Bahamas Press said.
Residents of Grand Bahama, where the hurricane has made landfall, are encouraged not to leave their shelters when the eye of the hurricane passes over.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Residents of the Abacos, where Dorian first hit, are advised to remain in their shelters until conditions subside later today.
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis ordered all tourists to leave the Bahamas and in an emotional news conference on Sunday said: This is probably the most sad and worst day of my life.
He called Dorian a monster storm and added: Were facing a hurricane, one that weve never seen in the history of the Bahamas.
The centre of the storm is around 45 miles east of Freeport on Grand Bahama and around 130 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
It is estimated up to 1.5million people could be ordered to flee the US coastline.
Georgias governor Brian Kemp ordered a mandatory evacuation of the states entire Atlantic coastline starting at noon on Monday.
His executive order covers all residents located east of the Interstate 95 corridor on Georgias Atlantic seaboard, he tweeted overnight.
The evacuation begins at noon local time – around 5pm in the UK – and comes as powerful Hurricane Dorian crawls ever closer to the US Southeast.
Dorian would mark the third time since 2016 that hurricane evacuations have been ordered for all of coastal Georgia.
Roughly 540,000 people live on the states 100-mile coast. Areas be evacuated include parts of Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty, and McIntosh counties.
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster has also ordered the evacuation of the state and said he is taking no chances despite forecasts saying that the storm will move parallel to the coast.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Authorities say his order covers approximately 830,000 people, many of whom will be evacuating for the fourth time in four yeaRead More – Source