Bahamas spared as tropical storm moves away
NASSAU, Bahamas — The Bahamas breathed a sigh of relief as a new storm changed course Saturday and skirted the islands that were devastated by Hurricane Dorian less than two weeks ago.
The new storm, Tropical Storm Humberto, was never expected to be as destructive as Dorian, a Category 5 hurricane that killed at least 50 people, a death toll that is expected to increase drastically. Even so, Humberto threatened to complicate the already difficult task of rescue workers, who were still searching for about 1,300 missing people.
The National Hurricane Center said Saturday that Humberto was likely to strengthen gradually and become a hurricane by Sunday night, but that it would move away from the northwestern Bahamas before then. Heavy rain was still expected in some parts.
In the southeastern U.S., some areas of the Florida and Georgia coasts were expected to get up to 1 inch of rain.
Meanwhile, four more tropical waves are being tracked by the National Hurricane Center.
One system formed overnight in the Gulf of Mexico, with three more between Africa and the Leeward Islands in the Atlantic.
The Bahamas had been bracing for a direct hit, but Trevor M. Basden, director of the Bahamian government’s Department of Meteorology, said the storm got no closer than about 30 miles east of Marsh Harbour, the town on Great Abaco Island that was torn apart by Dorian.
The system’s most intense winds and rain were north and east of the storm’s center, on the opposite side from the Bahamas, he said.
At 2 p.m., the storm was 40 miles north of Great Abaco Island and 120 miles eastnortheast of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, the National Hurricane Center reported.
Michael Pintard, a member of the Bahamian Parliament from Marco City, said relief efforts were back to normal, a day after they had to be shuttered early because of the approaching storm.
The hurricane damaged or destroyed nearly all structures in some settlements and towns in the Abacos, flattened entire neighborhoods and created vast debris fields. Cleanup has barely begun in most places, raising concern that storm winds could turn remaining detritus into missiles.
Nate Mook, executive director of World Central Kitchen, which is delivering 4,000 meals a day to Great Abaco Island, said it was trying to get a kitchen up and running on the island itself so food delivery would not be dependent on the weather.
“Everybody is really traumatized,” he said. “A thunderstorm can have a big impact when your roof is already torn off.”
In Treasure Cay, a settlement on Great Abaco that was pummeled by Dorian, residents said that apart from intermittent showers, Saturday’s weather was pleasant and at times sunny — a far cry from the storm they feared.
“We were expecting it today, with 40 mph winds,” said Steve Pedican, a golf course manager and longtime resident. “But it’s a beautiful day in Treasure Cay.”