Local News

Atlantis moves 2,100 visitors to the Imperial Ballroom before Matthew hits

THOUSANDS of guests at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort were evacuated from their hotel rooms late on Wednesday afternoon in preparation for the impact of Hurricane Matthew.

PMH issues A&E and maternity emergency guidelines during hurricane

PRINCESS Margaret Hospital (PMH) has announced only senior citizens and maternity patients with medical emergencies are to be brought into the Accident and Emergency department and Maternity Ward respectively during Hurricane Matthew's passage through the Bahamas.

Flooding expected to be worse than forecast says weather expert

SOUTHERN coastlines and surrounding communities are the areas that expert weather forecasters are paying keen attention to as Hurricane Matthew is expected to batter the islands of the Bahamas for a 24- to 48-hour period.

San Salvador and Rum Cay residents learn from Joaquin and head for shelters

THE devastation caused by Hurricane Joaquin last year has given residents in San Salvador and Rum Cay all the motivation they need to evacuate homes, according to the administrator for both islands, Gilbert Kemp, who told The Tribune on Wednesday afternoon there has been very good response to relocating to shelters to ride out Hurricane Matthew.

C R Walker school replaced as hurricane shelter in New Providence

THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is revising its list of shelters in New Providence, noting that the C R Walker Senior High School on Blue Hill Road has been compromised.

ANALYSIS: Extreme wind threat to Nassau as Matthew gathers strength

HURRICANE Matthew will move northwest through the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday, with the dangerous right front quadrant with the highest winds likely to affect the most populous island in the archipelago on Thursday morning.

94-year-old Andros lady defies order to evacuate her home

SOME residents offered resistance when authorities advised them to evacuate low-lying areas in Andros ahead of Hurricane Matthew, The Tribune has learned.

Long Islanders head for hurricane shelters as Matthew looms

AS winds of about 50mph batter Long Island on Wednesday afternoon, electricity has been disconnected throughout the island and residents are bracing for the storm's more dangerous features.

Rescue workers struggle to assess damage to Haiti as death toll rises

RESCUE workers in Haiti struggled to reach cutoff towns and learn the full extent of the death and destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew as the storm began battering the Bahamas on Wednesday and triggered large-scale evacuations along the US East Coast.

Florida faces "biggest evacuation ever" as Matthew homes in

GOVERNOR Rick Scott says Florida could be facing its "biggest evacuation ever" because Hurricane Matthew is threatening almost the entire Atlantic coast of the state.

Evacuation orders issued in Grand Bahama

EVACUATION orders have been issued in Grand Bahama for residents in West End, outlying settlements along the southern coast and in East Grand Bahama. Emergency Operation Centres have been activated, and all shelters were open at noon on Wednesday.

Inagua residents ‘comfortable’ with preparations for storm

RESIDENTS in Inagua were feeling the effects of Hurricane Matthew Tuesday afternoon, however officials expressed “comfort” with the level of preparation carried out ahead of the storm.

Southern islands hope not to repeat Joaquin errors

AS residents of the southern Bahamas brace for Hurricane Matthew, they are avoiding the errors that caused last year’s Hurricane Joaquin to devastate their property.

New Providence to be among the hardest hit

NEW Providence is expected to be one of the hardest hit, if not the most impacted island, as Hurricane Matthew barrels its way through The Bahamas until Friday morning, according to Bahamas Department of Meteorology Senior Deputy Director Jeffrey Simmons.

‘Move inland to higher ground’

PRIME Minister Perry Christie urged Bahamians to take the “potentially catastrophic” category four Hurricane Matthew seriously and prepare for the “worst case scenario” as he suggested that the government is fully prepared to declare a state of emergency if officials find that the monster storm causes irreparable damage to the country.

The Tribune