Hurricane Dorian: 37ft waves to lash US coast by Thursday
Currently parked over the Bahamas, Dorian has been battering the region and leaving at least five people dead.
Tuesday 3 September 2019 18:57, UK
Hurricane Dorian, which has left at least five people dead in the Bahamas, could bring huge waves of up to 11.2m (37ft) to the US coast by Thursday, according to EU scientists.
Experts say it is now the most powerful storm to hit an Atlantic island. The category two hurricane - which is inching northwestwards - has the potential to continue to cause loss of life.
Practically parked over the Bahamas at present, it has been battering the region with sustained winds of 185mph and gusts of up to 220mph.
Winds have fallen to 110mph and the storm is barely moving at 1mph - because forecasters say the currents in the atmosphere had collapsed - but they believe Dorian will resume moving later on Tuesday and get "dangerously close" to Florida's east coast by Wednesday evening.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says "life-threatening storm surge" and "dangerous winds" are expected in the area - as well as the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina - "regardless of the exact track of Dorian's centre".
The NHC added that the threat of flash floods will increase along the Florida peninsula, then spread up the southeast and mid-Atlantic coast during the middle and latter part of the week.
It also said "devastating winds and storm surge" will continue to affect Grand Bahama Island - the northernmost island of the Bahamas archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean - for "several more hours" and that people "should remain in shelter".
Floodwaters have reached the second floors of buildings and tops of palm trees - trapping people in attics.
The US Coast Guard airlifted 21 people injured on Abaco Island - and the Grand Bahama International Airport was under 2m (6ft) of water.
Bahamian officials say they have had a "tremendous" number of calls from people whose homes have been flooded.
One radio station said it had received more than 2,000 distressed messages from people looking for their loved ones - including reports a five-month old baby was stranded on a roof - while another concerned a woman with six grandchildren who cut a hole in a roof to escape rising water.
At least two designated shelters have flooded.
Hurricane Dorian is also being blamed for a death in Puerto Rico at the start of its path through the Caribbean.
Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis has said his country is "in the midst of a historic tragedy".
He described the devastation caused by Dorian as "unprecedented and extensive", and said many homes and buildings have been severely damaged or destroyed.
The country's health minister, Duane Sands, has said Dorian has devastated the health infrastructure in Grand Bahama and the main hospital is now out of use because of severe flooding.
The main hospital in Marsh Harbor is intact and sheltering 400 people - although they are in need of food, water, medicine and surgical supplies.
Mr Sands said crews were trying to airlift up to seven kidney failure patients from Abaco who had not received dialysis since Friday.
And he hoped to send medial help soon to the Abaco Islands, saying: "We are hoping and praying that the loss of life is limited".
The United Nations and the International Red Cross are helping with humanitarian crisis.
The charity has authorised $500,000 (£414,715) to fund the first wave of response.
It says more than 13,000 houses - about 45% of homes in Grand Bahama and Abaco - are thought to have been severely damaged or destroyed.
UN officials say more than 60,000 people on the hard-hit islands will need food and around the same amount will need drinking water.
Matthew Cochrane from the Red Cross said: "What we are hearing lends credence to the fact that this has been a catastrophic storm and a catastrophic impact."
Parliament member Imran Lewis said he feared waters would keep rising and those stranded would lose contact with officials as their phones lost power.
He admitted that "it is scary" - adding that people were going from one shelter to another in an attempt to escape the rising waters, saying: "We are definitely in dire straits."
The storm is about 110 miles northeast of Florida's West Palm Beach - and by Wednesday night and Thursday it would be very close to Georgia and South Carolina - and near or over the North Carolina shoreline late on Thursday.
Even "a small deviation" in its projected track could take the storm toward land, according to meteorologist Daniel Brown.
Walt Disney World in Orlando planned to close in the afternoon, and SeaWorld shut down.
In South Carolina, Interstate 26 was turned into a one-way evacuation route away from Charleston on the coast.
And Georgia Governor Brian Kemp organised a similar plan to move the flow of traffic away from the danger zone, saying: "We're taking the 'better safe than sorry' attitude."
The Queen has said she is "shocked and saddened" to learn of the devastation caused by the storm in the Bahamas.
In a statement to the country's Governor-General, Sir Cornelius Smith, the British monarch sent her condolences to those who have lost their lives.
"Prince Philip and I have been shocked and saddened to learn of the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian, and we send our sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives following this terrible storm," the Queen said in a statement.
"At this very difficult time, my thoughts and prayers are with those who have seen their homes and property destroyed, and I also send my gratitude to the emergency services and volunteers who are supporting the rescue and recovery effort."