Hurricane Dorian hits the Bahamas, the United States on full alert

With average winds of 300 km / h and peaks at 355 km / h, Dorian equals the sad power record of the hurricane that hit Florida in 1935 at the same time, "Killing more than 400 people, before we give names to hurricanes", remember USA Today.

according to The Nassau GuardianBahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis was in tears on Sunday in a speech just hours before Dorian arrived. "This is probably the worst and saddest day of my life to speak to the Bahamian people", did he declare. "As a doctor, I was trained to resist a lot of things, but nothing like it".

"We are facing a hurricane of power never seen in the history of the Bahamas. It's a deadly hurricane, a monster ", he added.

In fact, the archipelago "Is proud to be able to withstand very violent storms, and the Bahamas has muscled their construction laws, and strengthened preparedness for disasters like this", observe the New York Times. "But Dorian's slowness, the tremendous speed of its winds, and the overflowing waters expected on low, flood-prone islands, could be a deadly cocktail".

No one, not even the police or the rescue, is supposed to go out in such a dangerous environment, and no record will be available before Dorian leaves the Bahamas. But the first videos posted on social networks showed, as of Sunday evening, many scenes of devastation on the island of Abaco: flying roofs, flood of water in the streets, torn trees …

unpredictable course

The authorities are particularly worried about the rising waters "Because of the very slow movement speed" of Dorian, which does not exceed 7 km / h, and should fall further in the coming hours, says the local television channel of Miami Local 10 News. The water level could rise from "5 to 7 meters" in Abaco and "73,000 inhabitants and 21,000 homes could be affected".

The Bahamian newspaper The Tribune says that during an interview Friday, the director of the Abaco Beach Resorts resort assured that his establishment would withstand the hurricane well.

"48 hours later, shocked customers, carrying suitcases and belongings, took advantage of the cyclone's eyebreaker to vacate their rooms as the building collapsed.", writes the newspaper, calling Dorian a hurricane "With proportions almost unimaginable".

While the hurricane is set to hit the island of Great Bahama in the night from Sunday to Monday, the United States is also preparing for its eventual arrival – Dorian's course proving quite unpredictable.

"Meteorologists are not yet sure of where it will hit the United States – if it hits them, after its unexpected change of direction to the north", Explain USA Today. "It's forcing millions of people from South Florida to North Carolina to be alert and prepare for the worst". Florida, Georgia and South Carolina declared a state of emergency.