Hurricane Dorian Update
[guest post by Dana]
CNN is providing live updates on the hurricane:
Category 4: Slow-moving Hurricane Dorian continues to pound the Bahamas. It’s the strongest storm anywhere on the planet this year.
The US: It’s expected to get “dangerously” close to Florida’s east coast tonight.
Wind gusts are reported up to 190 mph.
As the hurricane hits the Bahamas, the minister for agriculture said about a video clip of the flooding at his home in Grand Bahama:
In the video, Pintard estimates that sea levels have risen at least 15 feet to reach a level above the windows of his home.
“This is what I’m facing at the moment, and I have neighbors that are in a far worse position than me and my family,” he said.
And horribly, reports of price-gouging are increasing in impacted areas:
The number of alleged price gouging “contacts” due to Hurricane Dorian has grown to 2,100 in Florida and Georgia, according to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Moody provided this information in a video. She calls these people and businesses “bad actors.”
Price gouging “contacts” include phone calls or tips made to the agency’s app or online systems. The illegal practice of price gouging involves increasing the prices of necessary items like food, water and hotel rooms during any natural disaster.
Further impact of the storm: More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled, and at least 13,000 homes have been affected by the storm, according to aid group.
And finally, this from the National Hurricane Center:
Here are the 11 AM EDT Key Messages for #Dorian. Interests everywhere from the east coast of Florida northeastward to the Outer Banks of North Carolina should be closely monitoring Dorian. pic.twitter.com/9jhuEZ8YW8
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 2, 2019
Our thoughts and prayers for all of those in the path of the storm.
–Dana