SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Forecasters declared a hurricane warning for parts of the Florida coast Friday as Hurricane Isaias drenched the Bahamas on a track for the U.S. East Coast.
By DÁNICA COTO and ADRIANA GÓMEZ LICÓN SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Forecasters declared a hurricane warning for parts of the Florida coast Friday as Hurricane Isaias drenched the Bahamas on a track for the U. S. East Coast. Officials in Florida said they were closing beaches, marinas and parks in Miami-Dade County beginning Friday night. Mayor Carlos Giménez said the county had 20 evacuation centers on standby that could be set up with COVID-19 safety measures. “We still don’t think there is a need to open shelters for this storm, but they are ready,” he said. But authorities in North Carolina ordered the evacuation of Oracoke Island, which was slammed by last year’s Hurricane Dorian, starting Saturday evening. Meanwhile, officials in the Bahamas evacuated people in Abaco who have been living in temporary structures since Dorian as well as people living in the eastern end of Grand Bahama. Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) Friday afternoon and was expected to strengthen during the night, the U. S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm was centered about 195 miles (320 kilometers) south-southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas and was moving northwest at 15 mph (24 kph). The hurricane knocked shingles off roofs in the Bahamian island of San Salvador as it carved its way through an archipelago still recovering from Dorian’s devastation. Bahamas Power and Light Co. cut off power in certain areas for safety. Paula Miller, Mercy Corps director for the Bahamas, told The Associated Press that while the islands can normally withstand strong hurricanes, some have been destabilized by the coronavirus pandemic and the damage caused by Dorian. “With everything not quite shored up, property not secured, home not prepared, even a Category 1 will be enough to set them back,” she said.
