FREEPORT, Bahamas – Hurricane Dorian has left a path of destruction throughout the Bahamas.
Videos of the devastation throughout the islands have been pouring in to Local 10 News as Dorian overwhelms several islands.
In Grand Bahama, water was lapping the windows and flooding homes well above sea level.
"That's my bedroom and the waves hitting there. That is over 15 feet from the ground," one Grand Bahama resident said.
In Freeport, waves of water inundated a home's lower floor, carrying floating furniture and debris with them.
And conditions were even worse outside as several cars in Freeport remain nearly submerged in the high waters.
On the Abaco Islands, the damage was just as devastating.
Local 10 News reporter Jenise Fernandez rode out the storm with photographer Brian Ely in Marsh Harbour.
We lost contact with our crew late Sunday afternoon but finally got word Monday morning that they were safe.
"Aluminum shutters were at this hotel and they blew off the windows," Fernandez said.
Fernandez and Ely were both unharmed, but said the fury of the Category 5 storm is a sobering reminder to always be prepared.
"I pray that a storm like this never hits South Florida because, if it does, and you hear us on the television telling you not only to prepare but to evacuate, you need to do it," Fernandez said. "Trust me when I tell you: You do not want to experience a storm like this. It was terrifying."
Local news broadcasts in the Bahamas are focusing on those who are still unaccounted for as families try not only to survive Dorian's onslaught but to find loved ones left with no way to communicate.
Linda Mackey is Consul General for the Bahamas in Miami. She outlines basic needs, such as food, water and medicine, as the priority.
"The devastation has been massive," said Mackey. "Parts of Marsh Harbour has been flattened. There's a lot of displacement. There's going to be great need."
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