trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/Z7YFJ-VL0nHdIpItxDjvxQ2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Dorian strengthens as eye approaches Carolinas; Bahamas losses estimated at $7B

Blog

The Big Picture 2022 Insurance Industry Outlook

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 37: Insurance impacts on technology and vice versa

Case Study

A Prestigious Global Business School Gains a Competitive Edge

Video

S&P Capital IQ Pro | Unrivaled Sector Coverage


Dorian strengthens as eye approaches Carolinas; Bahamas losses estimated at $7B

Hurricane Dorian strengthened overnight and is battering South Carolina as it continues to track along the coast of the southeastern U.S.

At 11 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center reported that Dorian was a strong Category 2 storm and located about 50 miles east-southeast of Charleston, S.C., and 140 miles south-southwest of Wilmington, N.C. It was moving north-northeast at about 8 mph with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center, while tropical-storm-force winds can be felt as far as 195 miles from the eye.

As of 9:30 a.m. ET, the Charleston, S.C., office of the National Weather Service said the entire Charleston area was under a flash flood warning. Expected rainfall amounts of 7 to 15 inches, combined with storm surge, will create flash flooding along the South Carolina coast, including downtown Charleston, according to the forecast.

Hurricane warnings remain in place from the Savannah River in Georgia to the border of North Carolina and Virginia, including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. A storm surge warning is in effect from the Savannah River to Poquoson, Va., including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds, the Neuse and Pamlico rivers, and Hampton Roads, Va.

SNL Image

Tropical storm warnings are in effect from the border of North Carolina and Virginia to Fenwick Island, Del., and for Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point southward. Tropical storm watches are in effect along the coast of Massachusetts.

The center of Dorian will move close to the coast of South Carolina, then move near or over the coast of North Carolina this evening or early on Sept. 6, when it is expected to make a turn to the northeast and pick up speed. The storm is forecast to move to the southeast of New England on Sept. 6 and 7 and approach Nova Scotia later on Sept. 7.

The scope of the devastation from Dorian's passage over The Bahamas is widespread, with the official death toll standing at 20. Karen Clark & Co. has estimated total losses in the country, mostly on Abaco and Grand Bahama islands, at $7 billion. New Providence, the most populated island in the chain, was spared the worst effect of the storm.