Hurricane Dorian unleashed massive flooding across the Bahamas on Monday, pummelling the islands with so much wind and water that authorities urged people to find floatation devices and grab hammers to break out of their attics if necessary. At least five deaths were blamed on the storm.
"We are in the midst of a historic tragedy," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said, calling the devastation "unprecedented and extensive." The fearsome Category 4 storm slowed almost to a standstill as it shredded roofs, hurled cars and forced even rescue crews to take shelter until the onslaught passed.
Officials said they received a "tremendous" number of calls from people in flooded homes. A radio station received more than 2,000 distress messages, including reports of a 5-month-old baby stranded on a roof and a grandmother with six grandchildren who cut a hole in a roof to escape rising floodwaters. Other reports involved a group of eight children and five adults stranded on a highway and two storm shelters that flooded.
Forecasters warned that Dorian could generate a storm surge as high as 23 feet (7 meters).
Police Chief Samuel Butler urged people to remain calm and share their GPS coordinates, but he said rescue crews had to wait until weather conditions improved.
"We simply cannot get to you," he told Bahamas radio station ZNS.
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On nearby Abaco Island, Parliament member Darren Henfield said he received reports of deaths but officials had not been able to confirm them.
Meanwhile in the United States, the National Hurricane Center extended watches and warnings across the Florida and Georgia coasts. Forecasters expected Dorian to stay off shore, but meteorologist Daniel Brown cautioned that "only a small deviation" could draw the storm's dangerous core toward land.
By 5 p.m. EDT Monday, the storm's top sustained winds fell slightly to 145 mph (230 kph). It was crawling along Grand Bahama Island at 1 mph (2 kph) and then remained stationary. The water reached roofs and the tops of palm trees. One woman filmed water lapping at the stairs of her home's second floor.
In Freeport, Dave Mackey recorded video showing water and floating debris surging around his house as the wind shrieked outside.
"Our house is 15 feet up, and right now where that water is is about 8 feet. So we're pretty concerned right now because we're not at high tide," said Mackey, who shared the video with The Associated Press. "Our garage door has already come off. ... Once we come out of it with our lives, we're happy." On Sunday, Dorian churned over Abaco Island with battering winds and surf and heavy flooding.
Henfield described the damage as "catastrophic" and said officials did not have information on what happened on nearby cays. "We are in search-and-recovery mode. ... Continue to pray for us." A spokesman for Bahamas Power and Light told ZNS that there was a blackout in New Providence, the archipelago's most populous island. He said the company's office in Abaco island was flattened.
"The reports out of Abaco as everyone knows," spokesman Quincy Parker said, pausing for a deep sigh, "were not good."