Residents reached by relatives said they were “trapped in their homes, and reported feeling as if their structures were caving in”, Russell added. Until this storm starts moving north, we won’t completely have a handle on it. Meanwhile, the storm has strengthened to a Category 4 as it laps up the energy from 86 degree ocean water.
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Officials have said that they received a call from the crew saying the 224-metre ship had lost propulsion, and was listing near Crooked Island in the Bahamas. “All the airports are flooded”, he said.
The heaviest rains will likely come in several rounds through Monday.
“We’re usually fine here”, said Sharlotte Castillo, “maybe a little rain, but we’re staying open”. “But we are still going to have a few bad weather”. “God controls the storm”. Classified as an “extremely dangerous” Category Four storm, Joaquin is capable of inflicting death and destruction with sustained winds clocked at 130 miles per hour, according to the hurricane center.
Joaquin’s hurricane-force winds, which extended 80 km from its centre, were forecast to miss the larger Bahamas islands and the main cities and cruise ship ports of Freeport and Nassau. A faster northward motion is expected to begin later today, followed by a turn toward the northeast and an increase in forward speed tonight and Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
This satellite image taken Friday, October 2, 2015 at 12:45 p.m. EDT, and released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Joaquin, bottom center, pounding the Bahamas and a deepening low pressure system on the US east coast. The National Weather Service has issued coastal flood warnings Friday with widespread tidal flooding expected during high tides throughout this weekend.
“Hurricane Joaquin is now forecast to remain well offshore and have no direct impact on the Carolinas”. However, there will still be strong surf along the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States coast, causing beach erosion.
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Hurricane Joaquin is heading further east than originally anticipated, and it now looks like the D.C. area will be mostly spared from its effects. The storm is about 5 miles (10 kilometres) south of Rum Cay, Bahamas. Stack says with it’s current strength and path, he expects the Hurricane Hunters to be flying more missions into the storm. “All schools have been closed in The Bahamas”.
