Like numerous Bahamians, Michael Pintard, the island’s minister for agriculture, hunkered down in his house to wait out what was a Category 5 hurricane while Dorian slammed the small island’s coast.
The world’s most massive storm currently and the strongest to hit the Bahamas in recorded history had sustained winds of 180 mph, and several gusts ranging up to 220 mph as it made landfall there.
Pintard uploaded a video to the internet showing storm waters rising to above his windows, that are at least twenty feet above the ground, according to his estimate.
The now-viral clip shows the government minister’s home being swallowed up in the huge storm surge and flooding as Hurricane Dorian passed over Grand Bahama.
Waters in some parts of the islands did not seem to abate as rescue operations are underway.
Footage from inside other homes in the small Caribbean island appeared to show families huddled in attics while the water rose to roof level.
Minister of Agriculture and Marco City MP Michael Pintard, who lives on Grand Bahama, showing some utterly frightening footage of his home during the passage of Hurricane Dorian. pic.twitter.com/gugVsLMroB
— Travis C-Carroll (@TravisCC) September 2, 2019
* I do not own this video nor did I take it. The images and videos out of Grand Bahama are getting worse. pic.twitter.com/lnQvmHz1SJ
— Travis C-Carroll (@TravisCC) September 2, 2019
Find floatation devices and use hammers to escape your attics through the roof, officials in the northwestern Bahamas reportedly tell residents as they become overwhelmed with distress calls. More: https://t.co/e9ujsvGTmH pic.twitter.com/2vUrkZbNmA
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 2, 2019
Hurricane Update: Iram Lewis,
— Dem House Leader (@kionnemcghee) September 2, 2019
Member of Parliament,
Central Grand Bahama sent me this video of Freeport International Airport: FPO pic.twitter.com/oDPIJXBnP9
* I do not own this video, nor did I take it. A resident on Grand Bahama shows the horror unfolding inside his home during Hurricane Dorian. pic.twitter.com/lJ2GQDBTrG
— Travis C-Carroll (@TravisCC) September 2, 2019
Official emergency sources are now alerting health officials that numerous families are trapped in attics and crawl spaces inside flooded houses amid the continuing storm surge in what remains an incredibly dangerous situation.
Some of the footage also shows terrifying moments water begins to pour into the windows of homes with people still in them.
As the National Hurricane Center reports, Grand Bahama Island is still experiencing disastrous winds and storm surge into Monday afternoon.
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