Dorian makes landfall in Bahamas with gusts up to 354 kph

TITUSVILLE, Florida - Hurricane Dorian became the strongest storm in modern records to hit the northwestern Bahamas and is expected to pound the islands with up to two days of torrential rain, high waves and damaging winds as parts of Florida evacuated before it took aim at the US mainland.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands as a Category 5 storm on Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 km per hour) and gusts of more than 220 mph (354 kph).

Millions of people from Florida to North Carolina were bracing to see whether Dorian avoids a US landfall and, as predicted, veers north into the Atlantic Ocean after hitting the Bahamas. Even a glancing blow from one of the strongest storms ever to menace Florida could bring torrential rains and damaging winds, and "a Florida landfall is still a distinct possibility," the Miami-based NHC warned.

Bahamas residents reported trees snapping and docks being destroyed before the brunt of the storm arrived. The pummeling was expected to last for hours as the hurricane may slow to just 1 mph, "prolonging its catastrophic effects," the NHC said.

On Great Guana Cay, just off Great Abaco Island, waves began washing over low-lying parts of the tiny 9-mile (14-km) strand of land that is only about a quarter-mile wide by mid-morning, resident Tom Creenan said.

Although some residents left for Nassau and elsewhere days ago, some 200 to 300 are riding out the storm on Great Guana Cay, where power was already out and forecasters are predicting up to 2 feet (61 cm) of rain and 23-foot (7-meter) storm surges.

"The other day the prime minister came out and said everybody in Abaco should leave," Creenan said by phone. "But there's no place to go."

"This is the strongest hurricane that's ever hit in the Bahamas," Creenan said. "I grew up in Florida, so I've been through Andrew."

Hurricane Andrew slammed into eastern Florida in 1992 as a category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, obliterating the town of Homestead.

That state was taking no chances with Dorian and four Florida counties, including Palm Beach County, issued mandatory evacuations for some residents, including those in mobile homes, on barrier islands and in low-lying areas. Other coastal counties have announced voluntary evacuations.

US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the storm would likely impact the eastern seaboard from Florida to North Carolina.

"This looks monstrous," Trump said during a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "This looks like it could be larger than all of them."

FEMA is moving food, water and generators into the southeastern United States, said acting Administrator Peter Gaynor.

"When it comes to response, we are more than ready to deal with anything that Dorian delivers us this year, or any other storm that may come this season," he told CNN.

Meanwhile, a new tropical storm has formed southwest of Mexico and is expected to become a hurricane on Monday. Tropical Storm Juliette is 455 miles (735 km) from Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), the NHC said on Sunday.

(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Titusville; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely in New York and Zachary Fagenson in Jacksonsville; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Dale Hudson and Daniel Wallis)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New storm heading for U.S. leaves 22 dead in Central America

Tropical Storm Nate gained strength Friday as it headed toward popular Mexican beach resorts and ultimately the US Gulf coast after dumping heavy rains in Central America that left at least 22 people dead.

Nate, which currently has 50 mile (85 kilometer) per hour winds, is forecast to reach hurricane strength by the time it makes landfall in the United States late Saturday on the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

New Orleans, where levees were breached during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and other cities on the US Gulf coast were under hurricane watch.



The US National Hurricane Center warned of possible "hurricane conditions" by Friday night on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where Cancun and other Caribbean resorts are located.

By late Saturday, those fearsome winds could drive a "life-threatening storm surge" onto southern US states along the Gulf of Mexico.

"Nate is expected to make landfall... as a hurricane," the Center said.

As of early Friday, the storm was located directly offshore from Belize, just south of the Yucatan Peninsula, with winds of 85 kilometers (50 miles) per hour that were expected to strengthen.

"The main threat to Belize is expected to be mostly thunderstorms and heavy rain which are causing localized flooding," the country's government said in a statement. It warned people in low-lying areas to go to higher ground, and for boats not to venture to sea.

- Evacuations, mudslides -

On Thursday, intense rains from the storm forced thousands from their homes, uprooted trees, knocked out bridges and turned roads into rivers in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras.

Nicaragua bore 11 of the deaths, according to Vice President Rosario Murillo.

In Costa Rica, where a national emergency was declared, eight people died, including a three-year-old girl, after they were hit by falling trees and mudslides. An alert was issued for people to be wary of crocodiles that might be roaming after rivers and estuaries flooded.

Three other people were killed in Honduras.

More than 30 people are listed as missing in the three countries.

Nicaragua's Murillo said that 800 people had been evacuated, nearly 600 homes were flooded and 14 communities were isolated because of rains that had been falling for days.

More than 5,000 people were put up in shelters in Costa Rica after having to abandon their homes because of flooding and the risk of unstable ground giving way.

In the Gulf of Mexico, some offshore oil and gas rigs were evacuated ahead of the storm's advance, the US government Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a statement.

The United States is recovering from two major hurricanes: Hurricane Harvey that tore through Texas in August, and Hurricane Irma in September.

Another powerful storm, Hurricane Maria, ripped through the Caribbean in late September, wreaking destruction on several islands, including Dominica and Puerto Rico.

- Hurricane season -

Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico and the southern United States suffer an Atlantic hurricane season every year that runs from June to November.

The unstable weather brings heightened risk of flooding and mudslides in many poor Central American nations.

This year's season has been intense, with some areas in Central America getting up to 50 percent more rain than average for September and October.

Costa Rica declared three days of mourning for those killed by Tropical Storm Nate, and President Luis Guillermo Solis, warned that, although the storm had passed, it was too early to say the danger had gone.

"This situation is deceptive because it will rain this weekend and the ground is saturated, so landslides are possible," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mexico, Central America seek joint strategy on migrants as Trump looms

GUATEMALA CITY - The foreign ministers of Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala met on Monday to form a strategy to protect their migrants in the United States, in a show of regional solidarity following Donald Trump's win in the US presidential election.

Trump's election upset has sent shockwaves through Mexico and Central America, which rely heavily on U.S. remittances and bilateral trade with their rich northern neighbor.

Trump romped to victory in the Nov. 8 election by vowing to end illegal immigration and re-examine trade treaties that he said have led US firms to ship jobs south to lower-wage economies.

During his election campaign, Trump said he plans to build a wall along the US-Mexican border, insisting that Mexico will pay for it.

Many of the migrants bound for the United States hail from the poor nations of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, and there are concerns that Trump's promise to deport millions would have grave repercussions in Central American countries with few jobs and shaky security.

On Monday, at a meeting in Guatemala City, the foreign ministers of the Central American countries asked Mexico for help to create a migrant protection network, liaise for coordination with US authorities, and to meet regularly for regional talks.

Claudia Ruiz Massieu, Mexico's foreign minister, said the US immigration policy remained unchanged at the moment, and added Mexico's focus on human rights and deepening bilateral links, including at the border, was unshaken.

"Mexico is in a situation of alertness, strengthening our services and capabilities to reach wherever our community is," she said.

Reuters reported last week that Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador had agreed seek support from Mexico, and work together to forge a joint strategy in response to Trump's surprise win.

With his inauguration set for Jan. 20, President-elect Trump is currently picking his cabinet.

source: news.abs-cbn.com