NASSAU, The Bahamas – Hurricane Frances has already forced hundreds of people to evacuate across the Caribbean and now it’s here.
The monster storm ripped through the British territory of Turks and Caicos, tearing roofs off houses, pulling trees out of the ground and disrupting telephone service.
Frances is a Category Four storm. Winds are exceeding 145 miles an hour and the storm could strengthen even more.
The Bahamas’ Prime Minister, Perry Christie, warned Bahamians in a nationally televised address that Frances is heading this way and could be the worst in history to strike our chain of 700 islands. It will likely have an impact over a large area, and if it remains a Category 4 hurricane, it will cause extreme damage.
A hurricane warning remains in effect for all of the Bahamas. Flights in and out of the Bahamas are curtailed, cruise ships have switched routes to avoid the hurricane, and Princess Margaret Hospital, here in Nassau, is calling for blood donations.
At last word, Frances was about 35 miles northeast of the southeastern Bahamas and was moving west-northwest at about 14 miles an hour.
Storm surge flooding of 6 to 14 feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous battering waves can be expected near the eye of Frances on the west side of Eleuthera Island. Also, on the north side of Grand Bahama Island. Storm surge flooding of 4 to 6 feet above normal tide levels can be expected on the west side of the other islands of the Bahamas.
