The Latest: Hurricane Dorian keeps pounding north Bahamas

The Latest on Hurricane Dorian (all times local):

12:05 a.m.

Destructive winds from Hurricane Dorian are spreading across the Bahamas‘ northernmost island.

The National Hurricane Center characterized the situation as “life-threatening” in a midnight Sunday statement. Residents of Grand Bahama, where the hurricane has made landfall, are encouraged not to leave their shelters when the eye of the hurricane passes over.

Residents of the Abacos, where Dorian first hit, are advised to remain in their shelters until conditions subside later Monday.

The statement warns of wind gusts at 200 mph (320 kph) and storm surge 18 to 23 feet (5.5 to 7 meters) above normal tide levels that “will cause extreme destruction.”

The center of the storm is around 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Freeport on Grand Bahama and around 130 miles (210 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.

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12 a.m.

In a slow, relentless advance, a catastrophic Hurricane Dorian keeps pounding at the northern Bahamas, as one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded leaves wrecked homes, shredded roofs, tumbled cars and toppled power poles in its wake.

The storm’s top sustained winds have decreased slightly to 180 mph (285 kph) while it spun along Grand Bahama island early Monday in what forecasters say will be a daylong assault. Earlier, Dorian churned over Abaco island with battering winds and surf during Sunday.

There is little information from the affected islands, though officials expect many residents to be left homeless. Most people went to shelters as the storm approached, with tourist hotels shutting down and residents boarded up their homes.

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For AP’s complete coverage of the hurricane: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes

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