Hurricane batters Bahamas, heads to Florida, U.S. coast

Forecasters declared a hurricane watch for parts of the Florida coastline on Friday as Hurricane Isaias drenched the Bahamas on a track for the U.S. East Coast.

Officials in Florida said they were closing beaches, marinas and parks in Miami-Dade County beginning Friday night. Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the county has 20 evacuation centers on standby that could be set up with COVID-19 safety measures.

“We still don’t think there is a need to open shelters for this storm, but they are ready,” he said.

But authorities in North Carolina ordered the evacuation of Oracoke Island, which was slammed by last year’s Hurricane Dorian, starting tonight.

Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph Friday afternoon and was expected to remain a hurricane for the next few days, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was centered about 245 miles southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas and was moving northwest at 16 mph.

The hurricane knocked shingles off roofs in the Bahamian island of San Salvador as it carved its way through an archipelago still recovering from Dorian’s devastation. Bahamas Power and Light Company warned it would cut power in certain areas for safety starting Friday night.

Paula Miller, Mercy Corps director for the Bahamas, said that while the islands can normally withstand strong hurricanes, they’ve been destabilized by the pandemic and the damage caused by Dorian.

“With everything not quite shored up, property not secured, home not prepared, even a Category 1 will be enough to set them back,” she said.

The Hurricane Center said heavy rains associated with the storm “may begin to affect South and east-Central Florida beginning late Friday night, and the eastern Carolinas by early next week, potentially resulting in isolated flash and urban flooding, especially in low-lying and poorly drained areas.”

A hurricane watch was in effect from north of Deerfield Beach northward to the Volusia-Brevard County Line.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “Florida is fully prepared for this and any future storm during this hurricane season,” with stockpiles of personal protective equipment, generators, bottled water and meals ready to be distributed.

AMY BETH BENNETT / SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL VIA AP Home Depot aisles in Boynton Beach, Fla., are stocked with supplies as Isaias approached South Florida.