Nicole brings ‘extensive flooding’ to Bahamas as it intensifies to a hurricane

Tropical Storm Nicole lashed the northwest Bahamas Wednesday with 70 mph sustained winds, bringing “extensive flooding” and storm surges inland to a storm-weary population on the island of Abaco as it headed toward Grand Bahama, trekking a similar path that one of the country’s deadliest storms followed three years earlier.

“There are areas that are flooded and we are waiting and watching to see if it deteriorates,” Pastor Menas Beauvoir of Mont des Olivier Abaco Church told the Miami Herald from Marsh Harbour just before authorities reported at 5 p.m. that Nicole had failed to reach hurricane-force strength as it slashed Abaco.

Bahamian authorities said there were no major incidents, or requests for search and rescue in Grand Bahama or any of the other low-lying islands. However, police reported a number of road closures in several of the islands, including in New Providence where the capital of Nassau is located, due to flooding and debris.

READ MORE: NICOLE, NOW A CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE, LASHES FLORIDA COAST

New Providence, Eleuthera and Andros — were all given the all-clear as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, and schools and university classes are to resume Thursday, acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper said while asking all government workers to return to duty in those islands.

“Thankfully so far, there have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries,” he said. “However, we cannot overemphasized for you to heed the warnings ...stay indoors, and even on the islands where there has been the all-clear signals given, I ask you to continue to exercise caution and care.

‘Not out of the woods yet’

“We’ve seen this before,” Cooper added. “We are a resilient people and I have confidence we will recover stronger. I repeat though, we are not yet out of the woods, particularly in Grand Bahama.”

Capt. Stephen Russell, the director of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, said Nicole’s winds were around 45 mph as they blew over north Abaco and had not strengthened to what they had initially projected.

“I’m really pleased as to what we may have experienced at this point in time in terms of wind strength,” he said. “The people in Grand Bahama who have to go through the brunt of this storm in the dark hours and early morning, I pray likewise that they will fare well, the winds continue to remain at those lower levels. I hope it doesn’t bloom into anything beyond that.

“We’re all aware that some three year ago when Hurricane Dorian took a similar path and rapidly intensified in excess of a Category 5 storm,” Russell added. “So we are really grateful as to what we’re experiencing now and pray that it remains at that level.”

As the press conference wrapped up, Nicole had been upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. It was crossing the eastern end of Grand Bahama, which had been seeing intermittent downpour and gusty winds causing the water to skip along, throughout the day. The deteriorating conditions immediately created concerns for residents who recalled that during Dorian flooding was so bad that some people died and others needed to be rescued in the middle of the storm.

Russell said some 867 persons in the Bahamas took advantage of the 27 shelters the country had opened, and he continued to urge residents in Grand Bahama to head to shelters if they feel they are not safe where they are living or if their area is prone to flooding.

Painful memories of catastrophic 2019 hurricane

For many residents on Abaco and Grand Bahama, Nicole has been bringing back painful memories of Dorian in 2019, whose 185 mph sustained winds and 25 feet storm surges caused an estimated $3.4 billion in damages, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

While Nicole appears to be nowhere as punishing, residents didn’t appear to take any chances. Pastor Moise Larousse, who is in New Providence, said he made calls to Abaco, as well as Eleuthera and Grand Bahama ahead of Nicole’s arrival to ensure that people were taking the storm seriously.

As the weather deteriorated, authorities appealed to the public to remain indoors, noting that power was out in some communities and had been restored in others. The country could get the full all clear by 5 a.m., Russell said, but until then residents are to remain vigilant, he stressed.