It appears that this guy can always further shock us with demonstration of his ignorance and mental instability.
I often wonder: do those who support Trump simply not care?
35
They care about themselves and nothing more.
Not the planet, not the USA, and not Americans generally. And not the future, which might well include, if not themselves, then their children or grandchildren!
10
To the Koch's, and climate change deniers.
Behold what you have wrought.
5
“The roaring of the sea and wind, fiery meteors flying about it in the air, the prodigious glare of almost perpetual lightning, the crash of the falling houses, and the ear-piercing shrieks of the distressed, were sufficient to strike astonishment into Angels. A great part of the buildings throughout the Island are levelled to the ground, almost all the rest very much shattered; several persons killed and numbers utterly ruined; whole families running about the streets, unknowing where to find a place of shelter; the sick exposed to the keeness of water and air without a bed to lie upon, or a dry covering to their bodies; and our harbours entirely bare. In a word, misery, in all its most hideous shapes, spread over the whole face of the country.”
—Alexander Hamilton, 1772
4
Koch brothers & all the amoral fossil fuel executives deliberately sowing disbelief about climate change over the past three decades: see what you have wrought. You have blood on your hands.
7
hopefully, as Dorian get's back out to sea it's strength will intensify and, in conjunction with high tides, will smash into the east coast of Florida! :)
1
The massive, tragic damage the Bahamas have suffered must be mourned by all of us. Fortunately, it appears US territory will suffer a glancing blow at worst, thanks to nearby high-pressure zone changes.
This extremely powerful hurricane and other events, such as devastating fires in Amazon, Siberia et al, are unmistakable climate change effects. We have thus far failed to respond to the growing toll from such events with the required all-out assault on climate change, despite 40 years of warnings!.
It will soon be too late to make a difference. These current events are the result of 1 degree of warming and we can no longer avoid a rise to about 2 degrees within a short period, about 30-50 years, with attendant intensified, far more costly effects.
We can still prevent the 3 to 6 degrees, predicted after 2100, if and only if, we make a massive coordinated worldwide effort. US leadership is the sine-qua-non keystone of that effort. When will we ever learn? Is Dorian the necessary catalyst or shall we continue as usual?
I am not holding my breath. We must and we can do better than this!
7
So, it's 2:30 Wed. a.m. We have been stressing for a week now worrying about Dorian.
I can finally hear the winds creeping in. My heart is broken for the people of the Bahamas. They have nothing left. Warmer oceans and higher temperatures are only making these storms worse every year. I don't know how long this can continue. I no longer recognize my country anymore. I feel as though our leadership is taking us on a race to the bottom and we are winning. These are sad times for America. But we always come back. And we will again. And we will be stronger and more united. Winds are picking up a little and I hear rain. But the skies will clear and the sun will shine. It always does.
5
We routinely face Cat 1-5 storms each year in Queensland. We just had a 1 in 500 year flood event in Feb. I know how it feels when people face situations like this.
From experience, the immediate few days before a storm is crucial to preparations. Doing simple things to secure property from water and wind damage will go a long way. If the damage is likely, sounding off insurance early will help later.
We try to keep calm, identity and prioritise what we need to do and put safety above all else.
Good Luck to whoever is in harm’s way .
6
The physical damage caused by these increasingly frequent 500 year weather events is terrible. But, when the reality sets in that you can’t go home again, it must be totally devastating.
6
Will the Trump administration give much help to the Bahamas over the long term, or just do today’s tweet and then move on, perhaps to say how concerned T was about his ridiculous Mar a Lago G7 site??!!
No human feelings there, right?
Never mind worrying about other states or coastal areas that don’t involve T properties.
We don’t count and he and his administration couldn’t care less.
13
Stop making everything about Trump. Do you ever stop?
7
@Becky Beech I -- Trump has made everything about himself by caring only about himself and demonstrating callousness, cruelty and superiority over people he doesn't like. Blame him for politicizing everything as a means to an end - his own image and aggrandizement. He's the one who never stops.
22
A better question would be: Does HE ever stop? Ever stop lying? Ever stop saying offensive things? Ever stop protecting only himself and his billionaire associates? Ever stop betraying the feckless people who put him in office? And the luckless millions whom they have subjected to him? These are the questions we must ask and never stop asking until he and his ghastly administration is a memory.
4
Wondering and concerned for all the residents on the smaller islands and cay's that were in the direct line of the eye and too low to have survived the storm surge. So many good people. So much heartache, loss and trauma. It doesn't matter what "category" the storm is, what matters is the devastation and loss that are left in its wake. No one deserves to be in a mash up like this.
12
As 2nd home owners on Abaco, whose house luckily is far south enough to survive undamaged, our hearts are broken seeing the videos showing how Marsh Harbour has been crushed, how streets and store we know so well are flooded and shredded by this storm. I don't even know how they/ we (because we have a part in this) will recover.
When that poor woman cried "Pray for us!" we knew exactly what building she was in, and the main drag that was now a deadly rushing river. And the shanty town, "The Mudd"? There's nothing there but wrecked cars and overturned ship containers. Thousands are homeless. Cell service went down last night, so sat phone is the only communication left.
And as horrible as the storm has struck the Abacos, it hit our neighboring island, Grand Bahama far worse. The sea has so far reclaimed most of it, and I have no clue where the 73,000 residents are.
Prepare yourselves: The death toll of 5 is going to rise logarithmically as the waters recede and buildings are accessed that are now inaccessible.
Thoughts and prayers one thing. Actions are another.
I hope my fellow Americans will be generous with their time, their supplies and, yes, their money, to help the Bahamas.
34
How America responds to this catastrophe less than 100 miles from its coast and within it’s sphere of influence will speak volumes about our soul and the current administration. The islands withstood the equivalent of an F4 tornado 60 miles across plus a storm surge for 48 hours as the storm halted its inevitable march towards Florida and then turned away. In every sense we were protected by the Bahamas as the storm wore out its fury. No, they are not our people- the Bahamas are a sovereign nation and member of the British commonwealth with the Queen as their constitutional monarch. I expect the UK will dispatch the usual frigate and a squadron of marines and that speaks a lot about its post colonial priorities - but that will not be nearly enough and the UK will not be able to meet the vast resources necessary for a recovery effort of this scale. The US should step in and show the world its big heart, and make amends for tossing paper towels at desperate people.
31
@Iain: Donald Trump threw those paper towels.
9
Hubert Minnis the PM is so articulate and empathetic- something we are lacking in our chosen one
20
Please more coverage of the Bahamas and how to contribute to the relief efforts (not just through the REd Cross). Provide several options.
I can't believe the minimal coverage on the Bahamas nested in repetitive news about Florida and the US where nothing has happened yet. Cover the Bahamas separately and thoroughly like you did Puerto Rico. It is a relief that few people have died in the Bahamas, but the destruction is horrific. Poor people who have lost everything.
11
Would be interesting to learn if insurance people bought pays for how much of it? Or is everyone just out of luck and now homeless and broke? For all these previous floods and hurricane disasters what’s the financial toll and who comes out intake money wise?
2
Why if everything is flooded in Grand Bahama Island and Abacos are rescue services not deploying in small boats and rafts to send water and food if not to rescue people from their attics and roofs? Obviously motor vehicles are obsolete under these circumstances, and helicopters are having difficulties. Why not canoes, life boats and raft fleets? Certainly the Navy has plenty.
4
@tdb
If only the "Cajun Navy" could get there... they already set off to the East coast to help where other responding forces can't/won't. If they could make it there, they'd be there for sure. It's a shame that the government is trying to prevent that group from helping people in danger and distress... the World needs more groups that want to help fellow humans out!
3
Truth be told, the Koch's should be paying for all of the climate change storm's damage, and deaths..Then go after those who took money to look the other way, and deny the science.
20
I'd like to see authors of future updates on Dorian include some information on how we might offer aid to those in the Bahamas and Abacos.
18
Donald Trump's statement that until Dorian he had never heard of a Category 5 hurricane is yet another example of Trump uttering words that my have worked for him in the past but are obviously outdated and no longer reflect reality. Not only has Trump been recorded on several occasions referring to Category 5 storms (e.g. Michael) he is obviously personally familiar with adult film star Stormy Daniels whom he once rated a ten.
37
LOL! I needed this in the face of all this grim news.
6
Our Marines have large hovercraft and Osprey VTOL aircraft that would seem to be the perfect assets to deploy to assist the stricken residents of the Bahamas after Dorian. Or is Trump restricting assistance to a handful of small helicopters because the Bahamas are islands and he doesn't like POC?
13
As to the last question: of course T would put his personal feelings ahead of any thought for other suffering people. And also put ahead anything relating to $$ that he or family might find a way to profit from other people’s misery and losses.
3
@JohnW13: Maybe someone call tell him that the Bahamas are really the Florida Keys East, whose residents' votes he will need come election time.
11
Hope all those celebrities who have property in the Bahamas are donating big time or just making insurance claims.
8
Every year a Hurricane is the worst recorded ever....Last year Puerto Rico. This year the Bahamas.
But as long as we do nothing about global warming, we can continue to set new Hurricane records every year. What a goal.
33
Not true - a decade from Katrina before major hurricane
1
There were several category 5 hurricanes in the years immediately after Katrina. We were just much more lucky with their paths. And there were several more in the Descarfino after as well.
4
Decade = Descarfino in my post. I missed that one in spellcheck.
The Bahamas is part of the independent commonwealth...will be interesting to see if they get Puerto Rico’d...
7
@JRB
British Commonwealth, not US Commonwealth (like P.R.)
12
Trump created the storm through denial of climate change etc. His supporters love that he can "lead" in their dreams and when he fails make excuses for him. All of that aside: the earth is falling apart and we all know it but know not what we can do about it, if anything at this point.
14
Has Trump approved federal funds for Alabama’s clean up efforts? What’s he waiting for?
26
Alabama should clean itself up.
21
Dorian is the Donald Trump of hurricanes; slow-moving, bloated, and leaving billions of dollars in destruction in its wake.
97
These videos of people caught in long-predicted disasters alway bring up the same two questions:
1. Why do people take photographs of other people clearly in distress instead of putting their phones down and helping?
2. Why do people stay in areas in which extreme disasters are strongly predicted, and then spend their time trying to prevent themselves, their children, and their pets from dying or being severely injured?
20
Everyone should leave their homes in Bahamas and go where? How? How much money would that take?
30
@Zejee The Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency advised everyone days ago to leave the coastline and move inland. Emergency responders have set up shelters days ago for any that did not evacuate the island. Instead we see people videoing the hurricane surf hitting the windows of their homes--while they are still in their homes. Or watching the water come in through the windows of their attic, where they have fled. Or walking in chest-deep water finally deciding to evacuate. There are enough disasters in the World--and in life in general--without mitigating the ones you can.
6
All their homes are destroyed. They’ll all come here. Get used to it. People don’t come here for “free stuff”. Their homes and lives are ruined. This was all predicted by science.
8
Maybe with a real “stable genius,” we would have helped lead international rescue operations to make sure people had a chance to leave before they drowned.
We have only heard the beginning of just how many people were left there to die when there was ample time to get them to safety. You cannot survive a 20 foot storm surge when the highest part of the island is - what - 21 feet?
25
Having gone through CAT5 here in Saint Croix in '17 (Maria) and St Thomas CAT5 (Irma)- two Cat 5s within one month- I can assure you focus needs to be on supporting recovery. Send money! to the Red Cross or other reputable agencies. And vote! I understand the politics: Trump is a self-interested con man. There is no climate change debate: experts began predicting impacts of carbon emissuons & loss of trees on the climate decades ago. All we need now is commitment to global action. And focus on the shattered communities. I mean shattered. I live amongst mahogany trees that survived hurricanes for 200 years. Maria shattered them like twigs!!! That was 2 years ago this month and every day I am surrounded by harsh reminders. Americans track individual hurricanes to see who will or will not be impacted without realizing the overall FACT that this is the new norm. It's the new norm! There is only one storm and it now encompasses the planet 365 days/ year with intense and drastic and frequent wildfires, droughts, floods, unusual snow or snow/tundra melt, tornados... This is interconnected, folks. We can't get caught up in a cable cycle drama of Dorian, as if it's going to pass and then we'll be ok again. Dorian went over the VI, but it was 'only' Cat 1 AND I spent weekend checking my batteries, lanterns, camp stove, buying 5 gal drinking water jug, acquiring a dog carrier in case I need to evacuate on a mercy ship. This is our new norm here. Every year! And yours.
68
Extremely grateful to see that many thousands did not have a direct hit of a Cat 5, esp. many elderly seniors who would have died. Our prayers and rescue efforts now should focus on the Bahamians with every help we can give. We pray that this storm wears itself down before it goes up the coast and does not reek the damage we saw in SC and NC last year.
8
I would like to help out. Can you please identify organizations that are planning to actively help out with the reconstruction.
7
@Its Only Me
The first on the ground in Puerto Rico, Bethenny Frankel with Global Empowerment Mission. She was on the Weather Channel last night re the Bahamas. Here’s the link: http://www.bethenny.com/bstrong/
#thisisacrisis
THX!
3
@Itsonlyme American Red Cross is already there, on the ground, with rescue operations.
2
American Red Cross has a pretty poor track record for addressing recovery needs in the wake of hurricanes. Read the ProPublica report : https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-red-cross-raised-half-a-billion-dollars-for-haiti-and-built-6-homes
7
Want to know how good your favorite team actually is? Ask Vegas. Want to know whether climate change is real? Ask the insurance industry. There’s a reason many won’t offer homeowners or flood insurance on the coast anymore. When it comes to their bottom line they don’t care about politics; they follow the data. And the data says these storms are going to happen more and more frequently. The question is whether it makes sense to keep rebuilding in these areas and, if so, who’s paying for it?
44
"Hurricane Dorian, now a Category 2 storm, finally began to slowly inch away from the Bahamas . . . and though Dorian’s winds were weakening, the hurricane was also growing in size. Hurricane-force winds were extending up to 60 miles from its center on Tuesday morning, and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 175 miles."
This is still a life threatening storm, regardless of its category. Between the destructive winds and sudden flooding of water, this is a terrifying situation to be in. I marvel at the inner strength so many have to "wait it out" and remain behind. Good luck to all who encounter the path of Dorian. She does not appear to be forgiving nor kind.
16
@Marge Keller. ‘inner strength?’ Or inability to face facts that officials have carefully examined and warned them about?
6
@Marge Keller
"inner strength" is not the descriptor I think of for people who don't evacuate when they can.
6
@Anonymouse
If you have no choice, such as we saw during Katrina, when the Lower 9th was devastated, still is, for that matter, you stay. Because you have no car, no money for hotels if you could get to one, no ready cash for food--- it's not the foolish who stay, it is the ones who have no other choice. We don't fault us who live in big snow country for not "evacuating" before a blizzard, do we? The answer is better transportation and shelter OUT of the storm predicted area. Not blame on poor people.
1
That photo of the woman with her two dogs under her arms took my breath away, partly because I can't swim as well as being terrified of water.
Those dogs looked more calm than I could ever be.
I hope this woman and others made it to safety.
45
@Marge Keller
I watched the video of the woman with her two dogs in the fast-moving, chest-deep water; the dog under her left arm disappeared in the later part of the video, and she had only the dog under her right arm. I would like to know the story of what became of the ginger-colored dog that disappeared. Heart-rending.
22
@AMLH Yes, I'm hoping someone off camera took the other dog and was helping her. She didn't look more distressed once the dog was gone which I think she would have been if the dog had been pulled into the water.
4
@AMLH
I saw that clip too. For some reason, I thought that second dog had resurfaced. Great. Now I'll be worrying about that poor pup too.
6
Dorian is a metaphor for the disaffected among us, some of whom become mass shooters. It has spent an inordinate amount of time just sitting there at sea waiting for something to steer it along. While it drifts around aimlessly, it is capable of causing great havoc and destruction.
23
For the information of all the posters who think that warm water is the cause of hurricanes. The Red Sea is the warmest body of water in the world but has never had a hurricane. Brazil has never had a hurricane, but the water surrounding Brazil is warmer than the Caribbean.
5
@hdm2517 - No scientist has ever claimed that warm water CAUSES hurricanes, BUT the warm water causes the up/down drafts in a hurricane to become stronger and increased water evaporation causes more rainfall and flooding. If you read the article you will note that the number of Category 4 & 5 hurricanes have doubled in the last 20 years. What's your explanation?
58
@hdm2517 Warm water is ONE OF the causes of hurricanes. ONE OF. NOT the only one. You need certain conditions to exist all at the same time. Some areas of the Earth only have the warm water but not the other factors.
16
Wow! Perhaps someone should mention trade winds, and West Africa, and the North Atlantic Gyre.
11
When Trump's "stable genius" idea of nuking hurricanes was laughed at, he resorted to a new strategy- shooting golf balls at them.
51
So, you’re not a scientist and, of course, the science is not settled so try this...ask your insurance agent if climate change is a Chinese hoax.
45
While I am relieved to read about those who have been spared, and saddened to read about those who have been adversely affected, I cannot help but think about how these storms are likely to grow in strength and frequency going forward. All the checklists in the world will not be able to outwit the Mother Nature of the future.
29
I'm amused at Trump's fixation on pushing Alabama as a victim of hurricane Dorian, just so he can direct FEMA money their way, even through Alabama won't be affected by Dorian at all.
It's all about Trump rewarding his supporters, of which Alabama has many.
112
@Astrochimp
Actually, I'm not sure he isn't just confusing the Bahamas with Alabama.
17
Given everything he is doing to worsen our environmental disasters, how about we name the next hurricane for Trump? It's bound to appeal to his Category 10 grandiosity.
65
Mr Trump decided to comment...
he called the storm, a Category 4, “one of the wettest we’ve ever seen, from the standpoint of water.”
35
But is Alabama out of danger? Enquiring minds need to know.
33
Next Trump and the southern governors and senators affected will be seeking disaster relief funds which Trump can later divert to caging more immigrants. With the Supreme Court's blessing.
71
Blue states will be bailing out the red states yet again.
12
It would be karma if The southern White House took a direct hit and trump experienced catastrophe in a public way. Perhaps then the emotion of empathy would be added to his empty emotional suitcase and improve his Presidency.
32
Unfortunately he would love a free remodel
29
Way too optimistic. The way Trump views the world will never change. He is not capable of taking in information and analyzing it and then changing course. A narcissist is always a narcissist.
53
@Caesar Well, actually what would happen is that FEMA would be directed by the "stable genius" to set up a disaster relief center just for the southern White House and would waive any cost sharing for assistance and reconstruction. And, give the southern White House owner an interest free loan in what ever denomination said owner requested. No, I have no hope for empathy by said owner; sorry............
20
The pace of this storm seems a endless and labored as does the campaign for the 2020 election. Cleanup afterwards probably similar for both . . . massive.
40
Each year we seem to hear about a storm that has no precedent in the records of previous storms.
The bad news is that Hurricane Dorian represents the new "normal."
Higher average temperatures, because of global warming, lead to three effects:
1. Water evaporates faster when the temperature is higher.
2. Air can hold more water vapor when the temperature is higher.
3. Storms get their energy by extracting warmth from the surfaces they pass over.
As the average temperature goes up, we can expect to see more storms that are bigger, stronger and contain more water than before.
If you do not believe in global warming, that is fine.
But your beliefs have no effect on the weather.
The frequency of such bigger, stronger, wetter storms appears to have increased in the past few years.
How many more years of such storms that are ever increasing in size, strength and water content do we have to have before even the most disbelieving of global warming among us get the message?
Global warming is real, and it is coming to a storm near you.
153
@Joe From Boston
Nice Joe, well said.
But what about the fake news and fake science believers.
Maybe the hurricane wasn't what nor where described. We live in bizarro land, run by LEX LUTHER and it IS a strange place to be.
13
@hdm2517
All I have is a degree in science from Caltech and about 50 years experience. (I turned down an acceptance to MIT.). But what do I know, right?
I’m not investing one way or the other as regards carbon.
What I stated are three well known and scientifically sound principals of physics and chemistry, which taken together lead to the conclusion I stated.
You are free to disagree.
Mother Nature does not listen to you or to me.
But which one of us listens to Mother Nature? THAT is the relevant question.
50
And what are your credentials? The main quality that I see is a disdain for actual data.
I wonder who will get the repair bills for Mar a Lago. The Trump Organization or the American taxpayers. The Con in Chief will tell us his Southern White House needs our money to fix it because he "uses the place to carry on presidential biz."
76
Actually the Trump organization will hire a bunch of undocumented workers through some sort of shell company, stiff them with bankruptcy of said shell company, and then deport them while housing their children in cages. For these reasons I pray Mira Lago is not destroyed by the storm. However do these red states really believe we blue ones should bail them out yet again while they deny global heatings’s causes and effects and subject us to mass slaughter with their obedience to gun enthusiasts and manufacturers? C’mon. Get real.
43
@David Ohman. Well, actually what would happen is that FEMA would be directed by the "stable genius" to set up a disaster relief center just for the southern White House and would waive any cost sharing for assistance and reconstruction. And, give the southern White House owner an interest free loan in what ever denomination said owner requested.
6
@Dennis: If you've not read Kevin Baker's superb article "It's Time for a Bluexit," I strongly recommend it. You can find it online (from The New Republic, in 2017).
10
The latest presidential tweet: “Why does the National Weather Service hate America?!!!”
93
After the storm passes and we mourn the dead and rescue the survivors, we are left with mountains of trash. Look at the picture: every square inch of that material will end up in a landfill. The wood will degrade gracefully but all that pink insulation and plastic will eventually end up in a land fill or in the atmosphere. Who know how much plastic and other trash will get washed into the oceans? Megatons?
I noticed the same thing after the fires in Santa Rosa, CA, where the pile of recyclable metal was two blocks long and at least 50 feet tall. And that was just a minority of the material that could be salvaged an recycled.
I remember the anti-littering campaigns of the late '60s, when we admonished people to not throw that pop bottle and that wrapper out the window of their car. The roadsides are much cleaner now, but the the oceans are not. A recent study found microplastics in the feces of humans from every place in the world where it was tested.
Somehow, we have to learn to make stuff that either lasts, or that degrades gracefully. The storm will pass but the trash is forever.
123
We warm the planet,
supercharge the storms,
and then hope and pray that
they don't drift our way.
My hopes and prayers
spring from a desperate desire
that we come to our senses
and put knowledgeable,
competent folks in charge
of environmental regulation
before we perish from the earth.
67
The devastation in the Bahamas is horrific, and it will take years to rebuild. I am concerned that the focus on the Category 5, however, is going to give people on the US coast a false sense of security as the news now talks about Dorian "weakening" to a Category 3. Hurricane Matthew hit South Carolina some years back as a Catergory 1 and the damage was extensive to the impacted areas. Any storm designated as a Hurricane is dangerous.
104
@Bettina3 Living in South Florida, we have experienced many storms. The strongest was a weak Cat 3, it was terrifying but moved through quickly. The worst storms were Francis and Jeanne. Both were strong Cat 1 that sat on us for two days. Those were horrible. Miami-Dade building codes should be mandatory in every coastal state. Your landscaping and trees are destroyed but the buildings do very well, even on the water if you’re at a proper elevation.
The Bahamas had to endure days of a Cat 5, unimaginable terror.
17
Beautiful photo of beach from Cape Canaveral reflects our waiting for hurricanes that do and don't come....
11
While Mar Largo is first on the tangerine dream's mind ... it is last on mine ... climate change ... rising waters ... and large human and animal loss of these ever increasing storms ... breaks my heart.
67
Don’t pay attention to the forecasters.
God is viewing Mar-a-Lago through a watchful eye, simply allowing time for the decent people to leave.
20
Here's an idea. Let's have intensive, taxpayer-subsidized development in the areas most at risk, and every time the buildings and infrastructure are destroyed--which is inevitable--the taxpayers will pay to rebuild. Again. And again. And again. Because the people who can't afford waterfront should be bankrolling the people who can.
221
@Terry
Terry- great idea! We could also cut the military budget in half and use the money saved ( Said budget now at a trillion plus per year) to help meet our myriad unmet domestic needs). Or how about getting rid of Citizens United? The list of our tragic follies is long.
3