Hurricane Dorian fast facts
- Hurricane Dorian weakened slightly Thursday, becoming a strong Category 2 storm. Hurricane conditions were expected along parts of the South Carolina coast Thursday morning and along the North Carolina coast later in the day.
- As of 11 p.m. Thursday, Dorian’s core was brushing the coast of North Carolina.
- The hurricane center said a dangerous storm surge was possible Thursday on the North Carolina and South Carolina coasts.
- More than 200,000 residents and businesses were without power in South Carolina.
- The hurricane decimated parts of the Bahamas for 48 hours, killing at least 30 people. Officials expect that number to rise.
Hurricane Dorian lashed the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. Meanwhile, a massive rescue and relief effort was underway in the Bahamas, where there was widespread devastation.
The official death toll in the Bahamas ticked up Thursday night to 30, but that number is expected to increase. And according to one early estimate, the damage could cost up to $7 billion.
The storm now stretches 690 miles from top to bottom, bigger than North and South Carolina combined. Forecasters expect Dorian to make landfall in North Carolina sometime Thursday or Friday.
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Dorian spun off about 15 tornadoes, including one that wiped out mobile homes in North Carolina. In South Carolina, more than 200,000 residents and businesses were without power.
As of 11 p.m. ET Thursday, Dorian had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Dorian’s core was approximately 35 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and about 70 miles southwest of Cape Lookout, North Carolina.
Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 220 miles.
Follow live coverage of the storm below:
Canadian Hurricane Center issues hurricane watch for Nova Scotia
The Canadian Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch, meaning hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area within 48 hours, for all of Nova Scotia.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for Prince Edward Island and for the Magdalen Islands, and for New Brunswick from Fundy National Park to Shediac. A tropical storm watch was also issued for Newfoundland from Francois to Boat Harbour.
Dorian’s core brushing coast of North Carolina
The core of Dorian is brushing the coast of North Carolina late Thursday night, the National Hurricane Center said. Dorian’s core is located about 35 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina and approximately 70 miles southwest of Cape Lookout, North Carolina.
The storm remains a strong Category 2, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.
Life-threatening storm surge damaging winds are expected along the North Carolina coast, parts of southeastern Virginia and the southern Cheaspeake Bay. Flash flooding is already occurring and will continue overnight along eastern North and South Carolina and far southeast Virginia overnight.
Jeep stranded in Atlantic Ocean in Myrtle Beach
An abandoned Jeep is being pounded by waves in the Atlantic Ocean in Myrtle Beach as Dorian lashes the area, CBS Wilmington affiliate WWAY reports.
Myrtle Beach Police told WWAY they were notified about the stuck vehicle this morning. Authorities found the car locked and abandoned on the beach but because of weather condition, it isn’t safe to remove the vehicle.
Myrtle Beach Police posted on Facebook that they are aware and working with their team to develop a plan to remove it, but it is not safe at this time.
Death toll in Bahamas rises to at least 30
Speaking to CNN late Thursday, the Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the death toll has risen to 30.
Dorian slammed Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas. There was widespread devastation to the harbor, shops, workplaces, a hospital and airport landing strips, hampering rescue efforts.
Chef José Andrés is bringing thousands of meals to the Bahamas
Chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen delivers meals after natural disasters, has taken his mission to a remote island cut off by Hurricane Dorian. CBS News went with Andrés to Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas.
Andres took off from Nassau with a helicopter full of so much water and food that some of it was in his lap.
“We are going to deliver 7,400 meals. But for me, this is half of what we are supposed to be doing already,” he said.
When he landed in Green Turtle Cay, people were waiting. On the island of just 550 people, it looked as though most every structure was damaged or destroyed. People said they have no power, and they need help.
From there, Andrés headed for Treasure Cay. A woman at the community center told the chef what they need for the community of roughly 1,500 people. “What we need is pasta, pasta sauce, can goods, rice, grits, shelf stable,” she said.
— David Begnaud
”I should have been dead”: Survivors face uncertain future in Bahamas
Neighborhoods have been destroyed after Dorian’s 185 mph winds tore through the Bahamas. Some people are just learning the fate of their loved ones.
“Glad to be alive. This is the second time in my life I should have been dead,” said Doug, a 75-year-old man who did not want to give his last name.
He told “CBS Evening News” a harrowing story of survival after his home, a boat, was swept away, leaving him in debris-filled water. He was rescued from Abaco Island Wednesday and flown to Princess Margaret Hospital, just in time, he said, to save his legs from amputation.
“I believe in God,” he said.
About 13 miles from the hospital, helicopters continue to fly in survivors, like 1-year-old Reign and her mother, Ostina Dean.
“What kept me going was the child, that was it. I looked at her and I was like no, my baby’s not going out like this,” Dean said.
Her entire family was rescued from Abaco Island on Thursday, including 11-year-old Zion. His young eyes witnessed far more than any child should ever have to.
“My heart just stop like it… I was panicking. I opened my eyes wide. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said.
— Nikki Battiste
Coast Guard rescues 201 in the Bahamas
The U.S. Coast Guard said it has rescued a total of 201 people since Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas. They’ll keep flying into the hardest hit parts of the Bahamas for as long as they are needed.
“CBS Evening News” flew with the Coast Guard’s Seventh District over the islands hit hardest by the hurricane. Aboard the HC-144 cargo plane, the devastation is clear.
“Our primary mission is search and rescue. We can suffer some casualty to the plane to save a life but our primary mission is to save a life,” Lieutenant Julianna White said.
The Coast Guard also said it has four vessels posted near the Bahamas ready to engage with relief efforts.
The Coast Guard Air Station Miami is no stranger to these missions. In 2005, they rescued nearly 800 people following Hurricane Katrina. Lieutenant Jillian Harner said even one rescue makes all the hard work worth it.
“It’s definitely an honor. You have one case of rescues, it’s the best feeling. It makes the training you’ve done worth it,” Harner said.
Crews working to clear roads in South Carolina
Dorian’s eye closed within 55 miles of Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday, bringing with it gusts of more than 70 mph and almost a foot of rain. Many trees have been toppled and crews are out trying to clear a path on the road. The Governor Henry McMaster urged residents to stay home.
Most businesses boarded up downtown, except for coffee shop One Broadstreet where employees took refuge on the second floor of a concrete Civil War-era building.
“The storm was looking kind of rough and didn’t want to drive back over the bridge last night,” one employee told CBS News.
Flash flooding was always the greatest concern in Charleston, where it was above knee-level. It’s still raining and has been for quite some time. Downed power lines and exploding transformers left almost 200,000 people without power in South Carolina.
Officials said crews will be working around-the-clock to get the lights back on.
— Jamie Yuccas
Watches and warnings in effect
A summary of watches and warnings in effect, via the National Hurricane Center.
- Storm surge warning: From Little River Inlet to Poquoson, Virginia; the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds; the Neuse and Pamlico rivers; Hampton Roads, Virginia
- Hurricane warning: From Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to the North Carolina-Virginia border; the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds
- Tropical storm warning: From the Savannah River to south of Edisto Beach, South Carolina; from the North Carolina-Virginia border to Fenwick Island, Delaware; Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point southward; tidal Potomac south of Cobb Island; in Massachusetts from Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach; Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; Nantucket, Massachusetts
A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions were expected. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions were possible.
A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions were expected within 36 hours. A tropical storm watch means tropical storm conditions were possible within 48 hours.
A storm surge warning means there was a danger of life-threatening rising water moving inland within 36 hours. A storm surge watch means there was a possibility of life-threatening rising water within 48 hours.
“This won’t be a brush-by”
In North Carolina, rain was blowing sideways Thursday, whipping the abandoned streets in Wilmington. Governor Roy Cooper warned Dorian could be deadly.
“This won’t be a brush-by,” Cooper said. “Whether it comes ashore or not, the eye of the storm will be close enough to cause extensive damage.”
The Wilmington forecast called for winds of up to 105 mph with storm surges possibly as high as 7 feet. One of the biggest concerns was the potential for serious flooding from heavy rains — upwards of a foot of rain was expected.
That worried some locals who were staying to ride out the storm. “We’ve got everything all charged,” said Denise Harrison. “We’ve got food we could cook both on the grill and on the stove, and, you know, we’re pretty much ready.”
Thousands of people had already lost power — a number that could top 700,000 at the peak. “The time to prepare is coming to an end,” Fayetteville Fire Chief Mike Hill said. “Now it’s time to shelter.”
— Kenneth Craig, reporting from Wilmington, North Carolina
Stay put, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office urges
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office had words for the wise for the city’s residents Wednesday morning:
North Carolina and South Carolina brace for Dorian’s wrath
The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Dorian could bring “damaging winds and life-threatening storm surges along a large portion of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic coasts” Thursday and Friday.
The center said early Thursday that Dorian’s core will keep approaching the South Carolina coast Thursday morning, move near or over it later in the day and then slide near or over the North Carolina coast Thursday night and Friday.
Some fluctuations in intensity are expected Thursday “followed by slow weakening through Saturday,” the center said.
Tropical storm conditions were already being felt along parts of the Georgia and South Carolina coastline early Thursday.
Hurricane conditions are expected along portions of the South Carolina coast later Thursday morning. Tropical storm conditions will set in along the North Carolina coast later Thursday morning with hurricane conditions expected later Thursday.
North and South Carolina could see storm surges as high as 7 to 8 feet, with as much as a foot of rain and 15 inches in isolated areas, the hurricane center added.
Tropical storm-force winds reach Georgia and South Carolina coast
A NOAA weather station on the north end of Folly Island, South Carolina, reported a sustained wind of 51 mph and a gust of 62 mph was recorded, the National Hurricane Center said. At Shutes Folly in Charleston Harbor, a sustained wind of 41 mph and gust of 55 mph were recorded.
Florida man parks electric car in kitchen
A Florida man was concerned his beloved smart car would get blown away in Dorian this week, so he moved it to a very safe place. The inside of his house.
Jacksonville native Patrick Eldridge told CBS News he put his smart car inside his house on Tuesday morning, adding that his “wife was impressed that I was right about it being able to fit into the kitchen.”
His wife, Jessica, posted hilarious images of the small car inside the Florida home to Facebook on Tuesday morning. “My husband was afraid his car might blow away,” she wrote. “And my car is in the garage.”
The photos quickly went viral, garnering over 65,000 shares and 22,000 reactions. “We are still in shock that this madness wave has occurred on the internet since the posting first emerged,” Eldridge said.
The couple moved the vehicle out of their home after the storm weakened and moved away from Florida. While his car didn’t need protecting after all, the man said he did learn valuable information from the experience. “We now know that we have one additional parking spot available though!” he joked.
— Danielle Garrand
U.S. Northern Command to provide help to Bahamas
The U.S. Northern Command, which oversees homeland defense for the Department of Defense, said Wednesday that it will be providing assistance to the Bahamas, which was hit hard by Dorian over the weekend.
In addition, four U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys transported an Air Force assessment team to the Bahamas.
The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the lead federal agency for foreign disaster response, has requested Defense Department to facilitate the movement of aid throughout the Bahamas.
More than 1,500 in South Carolina shelters
American Red Cross officials say that more than 1,500 people have sought refuge from Hurricane Dorian in a total of 28 shelters in the central and eastern portions of South Carolina.
In Charleston, South Carolina, meanwhile, steady rain began falling Wednesday evening as Dorian approached the state and winds began picking up. Thunder could be heard frequently and only a few cars seemed to be plying the roads connecting the western edge of downtown Charleston with areas of the city just across a river.
— The Associated Press
Survivors describe horrors of Dorian in Bahamas
Survivors in the Bahamas described the horrors of facing Dorian. Robert and Phyllis Cornea have lived in Abaco Islands for more than 50 years. They’ve been homeless since Sunday.
“All the main buildings, gone. It’s gone. Everything is gone,” Robert Cornea told “CBS Evening News.”
“Take a picture of me because it’s all I have left, what you see me in,” Phyllis Cornea said. “I’ve been in this four days.”
Adrian Farrington told CBS News he lost his son. “I still can see my son getting dragged across the roof reaching up,” he said.
Farrington said he thought he lifted his 5-year-old son to safety on the roof of his house, only to see him washed away by the surging flood waters.
“If he be rescued, praise the lord. But for the search, what I saw, when I lose him, anything could happen. You had sharks swimming in the water. Anything can happen,” he said.
Nancy Albert waited all day for a flight out, but it didn’t happen. She described how her home was destroyed. “We opened the door to the bathroom, there was nothing left. It was gone. The house was gone,” she said.
— Norah O’Donnell, David Begnaud and Nikki Battiste
