Dorian, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, had been hovering over Grand Bahama Island for almost 40 hours by last night and was expected to stay put until at least this morning, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory at 4am Irish time.
1/2 Today at my national briefing I was deeply saddened to report that thus far there have been 5 confirmed deaths in Abaco as the result of #HurricaneDorain. We are in the midst of a historic tragedy in parts of the northern Bahamas. pic.twitter.com/Yj1nn9Fbr4 Dorian threatened to unleash a storm surge that could raise water levels by as much as 4-5m above normal on Grand Bahama Island, the NHC said.
Strong gusts and high surf were already being reported along Florida's east coast as the hurricane was about 170km from West Palm Beach, the NHC said.President Donald Trump was being briefed hourly, White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said.They included parts of Duval County, home to Jacksonville, one of Florida's two biggest cities, and some areas in Palm BeachCounty, home to Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
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