Hurricane Dorian claimed it first victim in the Bahamas where 200mph winds have ripped the roofs off houses, overturned cars and torn down power lines. Dorian, the strongest storm seen anywhere in the world this year, is currently moving at just 1mph as it continues to batter the Bahamas. Residents along the southern US east coast have been warned to prepare for Dorian to smash the US as it makes landfall – but what are the latest evacuation orders across the US?
According to the 8am AST (1pm BST) advisory issued by the NOAA, the eye of Hurricane Dorian is currently tracking over Grand Bahama – however, it is not moving very quickly.
At just 1mph, the eye of the Dorian could be over the island of Grand Bahama for more than nine hours today.
A high-pressure system over the western Atlantic is blocking Dorian from moving northwards which means the storm is effectively stalled over the Grand Bahama Island.
At some point over the next 24 hours, the high pressure will weaken enough that the Hurricane will move northwest towards the US.
In readiness for the storm to hit, many areas along the US East Coast have been evacuated in a bid to save lives.
What is the latest NOAA update on Hurricane Dorian?
Hurricane Dorian is currently tracking at 165mph – making it a Category 5 hurricane.
According to the 8am EDT (1pm BST) update, the storm is located 35 miles east northeast of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island and 120 east of West Palm Beach in Florida.
The advisory reads: “Dorian is moving toward the west near 1 mph (2 km/h).
“A slow westward to west-northwestward motion is forecast during the next day or so, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest and north.
“On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Grand Bahama Island through much of today and tonight.
“The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast tonight through Wednesday evening.”
Life-threatening storm surges could potentially occur as a result of the hurricane which is anticipated to raise water levels by as much as 18 to 23 feet above normal tide levels.