Dorian kills at least 7 in Bahamas, heads for US
Hurricane Dorian devastated the island nation of the Bahamas this week, killing at least seven people and injuring scores of others. As images of the destruction surfaced on Tuesday, it was clear why officials believe the death toll is likely to rise substantially once waters recede and the true damage can be assessed. Debris lies scattered for miles across the Bahamas’ Great Abaco Island, which bore the brunt of the massive category 5 hurricane.
Among those killed were an eight-year-old boy whose body was discovered by his mother and an elderly woman who drowned in the house she shared with her husband, a crab fisherman, who watched helplessly as his wife died before his eyes.
“She was standing on the kitchen cabinet until it disintegrated,” he told reporters.
The man, Howard Armstrong, undertook a miraculous escape, swimming through a window of the submerged house. He refused to leave the scene until his wife’s body had been recovered.
Bahamian prime minister Hubert Minnis asked the world for assistance, calling Dorian a “vicious enemy” that wreaked unprecedented destruction on the Bahamas.
By late Tuesday Dorian had weakened to a category 2 storm and was moving far enough east that most of Florida appeared to have dodged a bullet. Still, Florida’s east coast was being lashed by strong winds Tuesday night and storm surges of 4-7 feet were expected.
Next in the storm’s path are South Carolina and North Carolina, unless Dorian should move even further east than predicted.
Donald Trump was criticized for playing golf during the worst of the storm so far, and said of Dorian, bizarrely, “All we know is that it’s possibly the biggest. I’m not sure I’ve even heard of a category 5, I knew it existed. And I’ve seen some category 4s. I don’t even think I’ve heard the term other than I know it it’s there and it’s the ultimate and that’s what we have unfortunately.”
Trump made an almost identical statement about never having heard of category 5 hurricanes this past May and on at least two other occasions since becoming president.
In fact, at least one Category 5 hurricane has made landfall every year since 2016 when Trump was elected, and 2017 saw two, Irma and Maria, both of which Trump should remember if for no other reason than the negative press coverage he received for his administration’s shockingly inept response to the storms.
Trump also remains the world’s leading denier of human-induced climate change, which experts point to as being a likely reason why so many more strong hurricanes are being formed in recent years.
The Center for Science Education website notes that even a small rise in ocean temperature can have dramatic results.
“Warmer water causes hurricanes and tropical storms to become more intense, with faster wind speeds,” the center’s website explains. “The storms draw energy from warm ocean water which can cause a weak storm with moderate winds to intensify into a strong and destructive storm. For example, Harvey had weakened to a tropical storm before it encountered warm water in the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened to a Category 4 storm.”
As of Tuesday night, millions of Americans in at least two states along the east coast are preparing for the worst while hoping for an eastern shift in Dorian’s path. (La Semana)