Shelters along the eastern coast of Florida were jammed amid a frantic race to protect people and pets from the “potentially catastrophic” effects of Hurricane Matthew as the deadly storm barrels in from the Caribbean. / AFP PHOTO / Catherone CHISNELL
Shelters along the eastern coast of Florida were jammed amid a frantic race to protect people and pets from the “potentially catastrophic” effects of Hurricane Matthew as the deadly storm barrels in from the Caribbean. / AFP PHOTO / Catherone CHISNELL
Shelters along the eastern coast of Florida were jammed amid a frantic race to protect people and pets from the “potentially catastrophic” effects of Hurricane Matthew as the deadly storm barrels in from the Caribbean. / AFP PHOTO / Royston JONES
NASSAU, Bahamas (AFP) — Hurricane Matthew’s blast through the Bahamas brought harrowing reports of roofs blown off, windows shattering and water rising perilously, including a social-media post from one desperate resident who said, “I’m on a chest of drawers. Phone battery low.”
But there were no reports of fatalities from the National Emergency Management Agency.
After the storm passed and headed northwest towards Florida, residents emerged from their homes to assess the damage, which was not as bad as expected.
Many buildings had roof damage, but the integrity of the roofs and buildings had not been compromised.
Storm surges from Matthew caused several feet of water to come inland but flooding stopped short of entering homes.
Roads were littered with downed power lines and trees. Some were impassable.
The hurricane unleashed winds of nearly 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour) as it traversed the area.
Only those buildings with emergency generators escaped the dark.
Earlier, several residents in western and southern areas of New Providence island, an area vulnerable to sea surges and heavy flooding, ignored repeated warnings to evacuate. The island includes the capital Nassau and is home to two-thirds of the Bahamian population.
A resident in an area southeast of Nassau took to Facebook to plead for emergency rescue.
“Help!” Tamico Gilbert posted shortly before noon. “Water [is] over [the] bed now.
“I’m on a chest of drawers. Phone battery [is] low.”
Resort guests at the Beach Tower at Atlantis on Paradise Island were ushered into the ballrooms of a convention center.
One employee, who declined to be named, said she screamed as she heard a loud crashing sound from the glass entrance to the lobby.
“The wind was pushing it and pushing it, and it was shaking. I screamed out as it shattered in the lobby.”
Even the weather forecasters at the Nassau airport were told to evacuate their offices. They were loaded into a fire truck and moved to a safer building nearby, where they were able to resume their work.
Hurricane Matthew caused at least 264 deaths in Haiti, news reports said, and widespread destruction in Cuba, to the south of the Bahamas.
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