Dangerous Irene unleashes fury on Bahamas

Hurricane Irene, located 80 miles east-southeast of Nassau and carrying maximum sustained winds around 115 miles per hour.

NASSAU, Bahamas, Thursday August 25, 2011 – A large and dangerous Category 3 Hurricane Irene is unleashing its fury over the northwestern Bahamas this morning after causing flooding, damaging and destroying several homes, and disrupting electricity service in the islands in the southeast of the archipelago yesterday.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has reported that in Acklins, around 90 percent of the settlement of Lovely Bay had been wiped out, and house roofs and several homes were blown away. Power lines and trees were downed and residents have flocked to shelters.

Over in Mayagauna, 40 houses and the roof of a church were damaged and the island has been without power since yesterday. Several buildings, including a church and a school, lost their roofs on Crooked Island.
 
The central Bahamas was also affected, with flooding and roof damage reported.

Hurricane force winds are currently spreading over the northwestern Bahamas. Portions of the central Bahamas are also experiencing tropical storm force winds but the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami said that should begin to diminish later today.

Irene, located 80 miles east-southeast of Nassau and carrying maximum sustained winds around 115 miles per hour this morning, has hurricane force winds extending outward to 70 miles from the centre and tropical storm force winds spreading out to 255 miles.

It is expected that the hurricane will continue to move over the northwestern Bahamas today before passing well offshore the East Coast of Central and North Florida tonight and early tomorrow. By then it could be a Category 4 hurricane, forecasters say.

A hurricane warning remains in effect for the entire Bahamas and hurricane and tropical storm watches have been issued for portions of the U.S. East Coast.

Haiti feels it too

Hurricane Irene also unleashed heavy rains across northern Haiti, causing some flooding and agricultural damage. Some roads were cut by landslides. However, there were no reports of major losses or damage.

A United Nations officials report said that over 160 evacuation sites were opened in case of need and pre-positioned aid supplies mobilized.

Only one evacuation site has been occupied so far, by 500 people, according to the UN which put some of its nearly 12,000 peacekeepers on emergency standby in case they are needed for rescue operations.

The impoverished Caribbean country is still struggling to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.3 million others, and Hurricane Tomas last November, which caused widespread flooding, unleashing a cholera epidemic that killed hundreds and infected some 20,000 people.

New storm developing

Meantime, another tropical storm appears to be on the horizon. Tropical depression 10 is located about 435 miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.

The system has maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour and strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, the NHC said this morning.
It said the depression is likely to become a tropical storm later today.

It currently poses no threat to land at this time. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)