Prime Minister Harris Conveys Care and Concern for the People of the Bahamas on Behalf of the Government and People of St. Kitts and Nevis
Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 2, 2019 (Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister): Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris has reached out to Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Dr. the Honourable Hubert Alexander Minnis following Dorian’s direct hit on the country as a Category 5 hurricane on Sunday.
Prime Minister Harris spoke with Prime Minister Minnis on Sunday night. “I assured him that we are praying for the people of the Bahamas and encouraged him to be strong,” the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis said after the two leaders communicated last night.
Hurricane Dorian made its initial landfall yesterday, Sunday, at Elbow Cay, Abacos, in the Bahamas at 12:40pm then made a second landfall on Great Abaco Island near Marsh Harbour at 2:00pm, packing maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. It made its third landfall on Sunday night around 11:00pm on the eastern end of Grand Bahama Island, packing maximum sustained winds of 180 mph.
Late Sunday night, The Bahamas Press reported the first recorded fatality via Twitter, saying that 7-year-old Lachino Mcintosh drowned after his family attempted to relocate their Abaco home. The tweet also reported his sister as missing.
“We are facing a hurricane that we have never seen in The Bahamas,” Prime Minister Minnis wrote on Twitter. “Please pray for us,” he added.
Dorian is tied for an Atlantic hurricane record – it represents the strongest Atlantic hurricane landfall matched only by a hurricane that hit the Florida Keys in 1935. Early reports suggest that the catastrophic hurricane severely damaged or destroyed as many as 13,000 houses.
Today, Monday, September 2nd, 2019, winds are currently blowing at a sustained 165 mph – the same strength as Hurricane Andrew in 1992 when it hit parts of the Miami metro area in Florida. Dorian remains a Category 5 hurricane as it lingers over Grand Bahama Island, producing 200 mph gusts.
“The Government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis have the people of the Bahamas firmly in our thoughts and prayers during their time of greatest need, and we stand in solidarity with them as they try to cope with loss of life and property in the aftermath,” the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis said, while adding: “We send our love to the people of the Bahamas, as well as the assurance that we will do whatever we can to support them and help them rebuild and recover.”