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U.S. NEWSFriday 2 October 2015
Hurricane Joaquin batters Bahamas; storm could threaten US
BEN FOX A boar is removed from the water in Newport News, Va., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, in preparation for storm,” said 42-year-old
AVA TURNQUEST Hurricane Joaquin. construction worker Jason
Associated Press Petty as he pointed at tow-
ELEUTHERA, Bahamas (AP) (Joe Fudge/The Daily Press via AP) ering clouds gathering to
— Hurricane Joaquin un- the north as the sun went
leased heavy flooding as were refusing to move into rific kind of experience.” People on the island of down in Eleuthera. “It looks
it roared through sparsely shelters. Christie and other top-rank- Eleuthera braced for the nice now, but later on it’s
populated islands in the “We do not know the im- ing officials also deflected approaching storm late going to be terrible, just
eastern Bahamas on Thurs- pact of 140 miles an hour accusations that the gov- Thursday as they hauled terrible.” Petty was helping
day as a Category 4 storm, on those areas,” he said, ernment was not prepared sandbags and boarded up friend Demetrius Johnson,
with forecasters warning it referring to the hurricane’s and that residents were not businesses. owner of Majestic 9 barber
could grow even stronger winds. “We know it’s a hor- properly advised. “It’s going to be a scary shop, prepare for the storm.
before carving a path that Johnson had been sharing
would take it near the U.S. pictures of the damage in
East Coast. Acklins and other islands
The storm battered trees through Whatsapp as he
and buildings as surging waited for the storm.
waters reached the win- “People weren’t taking this
dows of some homes on storm seriously until 48 hours
Long Island in the Baha- ago,” he said. “But now
mas and completely inun- it’s a Category 4, and we
dated the airport runway know it’s serious.”
at Ragged Island. There Christian minister Dawn
were no immediate reports Taylor said she believed
of casualties, according to Eleuthera would withstand
Capt. Stephen Russell, the the hurricane because Ba-
director of the Bahamas hamians learned how to
National Emergency Man- cope with storms after dev-
agement Agency. astating Hurricane Floyd in
Prime Minister Perry Christie 1999, which hit with winds
said he was amending laws of 155 mph (249 kph) and
to mandate evacuations generated up to 50-foot
because some people (15-meter) waves.q
