HURRICANE DORIAN
September 1, 2019
Released: September, 10, 2019NHERI DesignSafe Project ID: PRJ2549

PRELIMINARY VIRTUAL RECONNAISSANCE REPORT (PVRR)
Virtual Assessment Structural Team (VAST) Lead:
Tracy Kijewski-Correa, University of Notre Dame

Virtual Assessment Structural Team (VAST) Authors:(in alphabetical order)
Prethesha Alagusundaramoorthy, University of Kentucky
Mohammed Alsieedi, University of Florida
Shane Crawford, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Mikael Gartner, Consultant Humanitarian Engineer
Mariantonieta Gutierrez Soto, University of Kentucky
YeongAe Heo, Case Western Reserve University
Henry Lester, University of South Alabama
Justin D. Marshall, Auburn University
Laura Micheli, Catholic University of America
Harish Kumar Mulchandani, Birla Institute of Technology & Science
David O. Prevatt, University of Florida
David Roueche, Auburn University
Tori Tomiczek, United States Naval Academy

Virtual Assessment Structural Team (VAST) Editors:(in alphabetical order)
Khalid Mosalam, University of California, Berkeley
Ian Robertson, University of Hawaii at Manoa

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance1

PREFACE
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a 2-year EAGER grant (CMMI 1841667) to a
consortium of universities to form the Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance (StEER) Network(see https://www.steer.network for more details). StEER builds societal resilience by generating new
knowledge on the performance of the built environment through impactful post-disasterreconnaissance disseminated to affected communities. StEER achieves this vision by: (1) deepening
structural engineers’ capacity for post-event reconnaissance by promoting community-driven
standards, best practices, and training, as well as their understanding of the effect of natural hazards
on society; (2) coordination leveraging its distributed network of members and partners for early,
efficient and impactful responses to disasters; and (3) collaboration that broadly engages
communities of research, practice and policy to accelerate learning from disasters. StEER works
closely with other extreme event reconnaissance organizations and the Natural Hazards Engineering
Research Infrastructure (NHERI) to foster greater potentials for truly impactful interdisciplinary
reconnaissance after disasters.
Under the banner of NHERI's CONVERGE node, StEER works closely with the wider Extreme Events
Reconnaissance consortium including the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER)
Association and the networks for Nearshore Extreme Event Reconnaissance (NEER), Interdisciplinary
Science and Engineering Extreme Events Research (ISEEER) and Social Science Extreme Events
Research (SSEER), as well as the NHERI RAPID equipment facility and NHERI DesignSafe CI, longterm home to all StEER data and reports. While the StEER network currently consists of the three
primary nodes located at the University of Notre Dame (Coordinating Node), University of Florida(Atlantic/Gulf Regional Node), and University of California, Berkeley (Pacific Regional Node), StEER
aspires to build a network of regional nodes worldwide to enable swift and high quality responses tomajor disasters globally.
StEER’s founding organizational structure includes a governance layer comprised of core leadershipwith Associate Directors for each of the primary hazards as well as cross-cutting areas of Assessment
Technologies and Data Standards, led by the following individuals:● Tracy Kijewski-Correa (PI), University of Notre Dame, serves as StEER Director
responsible for overseeing the design and operationalization of the network andrepresenting StEER in the NHERI Converge Leadership Corps.
● Khalid Mosalam (co-PI), University of California, Berkeley, serves as StEER Associate
Director for Seismic Hazards, leading StEER’s Pacific Regional node and serving as
primary liaison to the Earthquake Engineering community.
● David O. Prevatt (co-PI), University of Florida, serves as StEER Associate Director forWind Hazards, leading StEER’s Atlantic/Gulf Regional node and serving as primary liaison
to the Wind Engineering community.
● Ian Robertson (co-PI), University of Hawai’i at Manoa, serves as StEER Associate
Director for Assessment Technologies, guiding StEER’s development of a robust approachto damage assessment across the hazards.
● David Roueche (co-PI), Auburn University, serves as StEER Associate Director for Data
Standards, ensuring StEER processes deliver reliable and standardized reconnaissancedata suitable for re-use by the community.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.
CMMI 1841667. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thismaterial are those of StEER and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science
Foundation.
StEER recognizes our continued coordination with Manny A. Perotin, PE, FEMA MAT and Senior
Project Manager with CDM Smith, whose exchange of information and perspective is always
valued. Special thanks also go to Dinah Lawan, StEER Student Administrator, for her assistancein formatting the references. The contributions of StEER members Bilal Assaad and Wilfrid Djima
to this document are also appreciated.
The sharing of videos, damage reports, data sources, observations and briefings via Slack by theentire NHERI community was tremendously helpful and much appreciated. StEER recognizes theefforts of the DesignSafe CI team who continuously supported and responded to StEER’s
emerging needs.

For a full listing of all StEER products (briefings, reports and datasets) please visit the StEER
website: https://www.steer.network/products

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TABLE OF CONTENTSPREFACE

2

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

6

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Societal Impact
1.1.1 Societal Impact: Bahamas
1.1.2 Societal Impact: United States
1.2 Loss of Life & Human Impacts
1.2.1 Loss of Life & Human Impacts: Bahamas
1.2.2 Loss of Life & Human Impacts: United States
1.3 Official Response
1.3.1 Official Response: Bahamas
1.3.1.1 Preparations and Warnings
1.3.1.2 Response and Recovery
1.3.2 Official Response: United States
1.4 Report Scope

6
7
7
8
10
10
11
11
11
11
13
14
15

2.0 Hazard Characteristics
2.1 Meteorological Background2.1.1 Early Development
2.1.2 Landfall on Abaco Islands
2.1.3 Landfall on Grand Bahama Island
2.1.3 Progression along US Coast
2.1.4 Near-Landfall in US
2.1.5 Preliminary Wind Fields
2.2 Storm Surge and Coastal Flooding
2.2.1 Storm Surge and Flooding: Bahamas
2.2.2 Storm Surge and Flooding in Southeastern United States
2.4 Rainfall and Inland Flooding
2.4.1 Rainfall: Bahamas
2.4.2 Rainfall and Inland Flooding: United States
2.5 Tornadoes

16
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3.0 Codes and Construction Practices: Bahamas

32

4.0 Damage to Buildings
4.1 Building Damage: Bahamas

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance44.1.1 Abaco Islands
4.1.1.1 Central Abaco District, Great Abaco Island
4.1.1.2 Elbow Cay
4.1.1.3 Grand Cay Island
4.1.1.4 Green Turtle Cay
4.1.1.5 Moore’s Island
4.1.1.6 North Abaco District, Grand Abaco Island
4.1.1.7 South Abaco District, Grand Abaco Island
4.1.2 Grand Bahama Island
4.1.2.1 Freeport City District
4.1.2.2 East Grand Bahama District
4.1.2.3 West Grand Bahama District
4.1.4 Other Bahamian Islands

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4.2 Building Damage: United States

58

5.0 Damage to Infrastructure
5.1 Infrastructure Damage: Bahamas
5.1.1 Abaco Islands
5.1.2 Grand Bahama Island
5.2 Infrastructure Damage: United States

60
60
62
64
68

6.0 Observed Geotechnical Failures69

7.0 Current Conditions and Access
7.1 Abaco Islands, Bahamas
7.1.1 Great Abaco Island
7.1.2 Elbow Cay
7.1.3 Grand Cay Island
7.1.4 Green Turtle Cay
7.1.5 Moore’s Island
7.2 Grand Bahama Island
7.3 Other Bahamian Islands

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71

8.0 Recommended Response Strategy

72

Appendix A. Timeline of Bahamas Response

75

Appendix B: Preliminary rainfall totals in United States

80

Appendix C: 2010 Census Building and Housing Stock (Bahamas)

82

Appendix D: Topographic Map of Abaco Islands

84

References85
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On September 1, 2019, Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay in the Bahamas at 16:40
UTC with sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h), wind gusts up to 225 mph (360 km/h), and acentral pressure of 910 mb, tying Dorian with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the strongest
sustained winds observed in a landfall in the Atlantic Basin. Shortly thereafter, Dorian made asecond landfall in the Bahamas at Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island before continuing
westward across Grand Bahama Island. After nearly two days pummeling Grand Bahama Island,setting records for the longest duration over land at a Category 5 intensity, Dorian approached
the US in a weakened state with its most notable impacts confined to flooding and tornadoes in
the Carolinas. The devastation to the Bahamas is staggering and driven in large part by storm
surge, in excess of an estimated 20 feet above mean sea level in some locations. While dozens
have been confirmed dead at the time of this report’s release, the storm made landfall in informal
settlements on Great Abaco Island that were home to a large number of undocumented migrants.
Considering this along with the large number of yet accounted for documented citizens suggests
the death toll is likely to substantially rise and may never be confirmed. Meanwhile, the survivors
face a wide-spread humanitarian crisis with significant food and water deficits affecting more than
60,000 residents of Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands.
Preliminary losses (insured and uninsured) are estimated at $7B, not yet accounting forinfrastructure losses. Rapid assessments suggest that more than 13,000 houses, or about 45%of the homes in Grand Bahama and Abaco, were likely severely damaged or destroyed.
Significant impacts to healthcare facilities, airports, roadways and power infrastructure in Grand
Bahama and Abaco islands have also been extensively documented. The full extent of damage
to infrastructure in this event is likely obscured by the massive debris field instigated by Dorian’s
storm surge as well as the limited access to some of the most heavily affected areas. Specifically,
the damage to major harbors and airstrips has posed significant logistical challenges for rescue,evacuation, recovery and humanitarian efforts currently unfolding across the two major affectedislands, as well as a number of smaller islands and cays.
Hurricane Dorian thus offers the opportunity to investigate a powerful storm’s impact over multiple
geographies. The storm’s slow evolution and sustained intensity presented numerous challenges
in forecasting and preparation and imposed incredible stresses upon the built and naturalenvironments as well as its victims. While in no way diminishing Dorian’s impact on the Carolinas,
the careful examination of properties in the Bahamas with little to no damage in this recordbreaking event can serve as an important validation of design and construction practices. This
Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (PVRR) represents StEER’s first step in theprocess of learning from this disaster by (1) providing an overview of Hurricane Dorian’s impact
on the built environment, including the effects of its hurricane-force winds, coastal storm surge
and cyclone-induced tornadoes, (2) overviewing the regulatory environment and construction
practices in the Bahamas, (3) summarizing the preliminary reports of damage to a range ofbuilding and infrastructure classes, (4) establishing current conditions in the Bahamas withrespect to access and services, and (5) providing recommendations to inform the continued studyof this event.

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance61.0 Introduction
On September 1, 2019, Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay in the Bahamas at 16:40
UTC with sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h), wind gusts up to 225 mph (360 km/h), and acentral pressure of 910 mb, tying Dorian with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the strongest
sustained winds observed in a landfall in the Atlantic Basin (Fedschun, 2019). Shortly thereafter,
Dorian made a second landfall in the Bahamas at Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island before
continuing westward across Grand Bahama Island, where the storm’s pace slowed to 1 mph.
After nearly two days pummeling Grand Bahama Island, setting records for the longest duration
over land at a Category 5 intensity, Dorian approached the US in a weakened state, hovering
between Category 2-3 intensity as it continued its slow trek parallel to the Atlantic coast of Florida
the week of September 2. By September 5, the effects of the storm were evident in the Carolinas,
as Dorian continued to weaken to a Category 1, just brushing the coast of North Carolina, about
35 miles southeast of Wilmington. While not directly landfalling in the US, Dorian spawned
tornadoes, triggered flash flooding, and delivered hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm
surge as it continued its slow trek along the North American Atlantic Coast toward Canada.
Hurricane Dorian is part of a larger trend of tropical cyclones with reduced forward speeds causedby disruptions in the atmospheric circulation patterns that steer these weather systems, attributed
to the warming of the atmosphere (Hall and Kossin, 2019). Devastating effects of stalled
hurricanes like the remnants of Harvey and now Dorian are speculated to become increasingly
common. While states from Florida all the way to Virginia have had some effect from Dorian, thesections that follow will focus on the hurricane’s impact in the Bahamas, as well as the storm’s
implications for South and North Carolina.

1.1 Societal Impact
1.1.1 Societal Impact: Bahamas
On the islands where Dorian made direct landfalls (Elbow Cay, Grand Abaco and Grand Bahama
Islands), the Bahamian National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) estimates some
76,000 people were exposed to damaging winds (UN OCHA, 2019). Projections based on thislevel of exposure to damaging winds (see Fig. 1.1) suggests catastrophic losses of land coverand destruction of approximately a quarter of the housing stock in the Bahamas (IFRC, 2019),
though it is unlikely this analysis was capable of factoring in Dorian’s considerable storm surge
and sustained exposure to damaging wind and waves. Even this basic analysis of wind-exposed
populations suggests a significant shelter, food and water deficit for tens of thousands of residents
on both Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands (UN OCHA, 2019). This was affirmed in the early daysof damage assessments as the Red Cross estimated more than 13,000 houses, or about 45% of
the homes in Grand Bahama and Abaco, were likely severely damaged or destroyed with about
62,000 people on these islands without clean drinking water (TWC, 2019a). UN officials said morethan 60,000 are in need of food. Preliminary losses (insured and uninsured) were estimated by
Karen Clark & Company at $7B inclusive of buildings, contents and business disruption forcommercial, residential and industrial properties. A projection by island is presented in Figure 1.2.

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This does not include infrastructure and auto losses (KCC, 2019). Much of the residential losses
speculated to be uninsured (Campo-Flores and Ailworth, 2019).

Population

Residential
Units

Land Cover:
Urban

Land Cover:
Non-Urban

Figure 1.1. Projected wind-induced impacts to population, residential units and land cover(IFRC 2019).

Figure 1.2. Preliminary loss estimates: total (insured and uninsured) losses to residential,commercial and industrial properties. Infrastructure and auto losses not included (KCC, 2019).
1.1.2 Societal Impact: United States
The impacts of Hurricane Dorian in the southeastern United States were largely confined toflooding and power outages, along with some wind damage due to a few cyclone-induced

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tornadoes. The coastal city of Charleston, SC, with an elevation of 20 feet above sea level andfrequently afflicted with nuisance flooding, reported widespread flooding due to Dorian’s rains andstorm surge (Fig. 1.3). The Spatially Generalized Hurricane Power Outage Model (Guikema etal., 2014) predicted that 4 million US citizens lost power in Hurricane Dorian, with the spatial
distribution of outages provided in Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.3. Flood damage to buildings in Charleston, SC (Source:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2BMAqYhfyl/).

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Figure 1.4. Spatial distribution of power outages across the southeast U.S. (Source: http://ioeguikema.engin.umich.edu/Hurricane_Dorian.html).

1.2 Loss of Life & Human Impacts
1.2.1 Loss of Life & Human Impacts: Bahamas
As of September 10, 2019, fifty are confirmed dead in the Bahamas (Fageson et al., 2019), but
this number is expected to be far higher with many still missing (Democracy Now!, 2019). Officials
anticipate a large death count in large part due to the presence of two informal settlements in
Marsh Harbour - The Mudd and Pigeon Peas - that experienced the worst of Dorian’s winds andstorm surge. These communities were primarily populated with immigrants, many of them
undocumented. Some 70,000 traumatized survivors in desperate need of food and shelter, withnothing but wreckage encircling them and no way to communicate, are now overwhelmed by theprospect of rebuilding their lives. In the Abaco Islands, that process began simply by leaving: todate 3500 survivors have been transported by ferry to Nassau and thousands are evacuating byboat and plane to Florida, while others remain in the remnants of their communities in the only
homes they have ever known (CBS News, 2019).

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance101.2.2 Loss of Life & Human Impacts: United States
Four fatalities in the US (3 in Florida, 1 in North Carolina) have been attributed to Dorian, alloccurring during preparations for the storm (BBC, 2019). An additional death, associated with anexisting medical condition, occurred in Pamlico County, NC (for a US total of 5) as a man
attempted to secure his boat prior to the storm (Gilbert, 2019). Residents of Ocracoke Island, in
the North Carolina Outer Banks, where 800 persons sheltered in place during the Hurricane, were
stranded by a road failure, discussed later in Section 6.0, and continue to receive air lifts ofprovisions (Helsel and Burke, 2019).

1.3 Official Response
1.3.1 Official Response: Bahamas
This section reviews the official response to Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, which is still
unfolding and will continue to expand both in the number of actors and strategy given thecatastrophic damages. Appendix A offers a detailed reconstruction of the response timeline.
1.3.1.1 Preparations and Warnings
On August 28, the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in Grand Bahama was activated by
NEMA, and, in a subsequent press release, Prime Minister Thompson urged residents of Abaco,
Grand Bahama and Berry Islands to secure their houses and businesses before the hurricane(Fig. 1.5a). Government offices and schools were ordered closed. On August 30, voluntaryevacuations started in Abaco and Grand Bahama via ferry boats and aircraft (Ward and Faiola,
2019a). While Bahamasair offered discounted rates to those seeking to leave the islands on flights
before Dorian on August 30 and 311 (Fig. 1.5b), evacuation of low-lying archipelagos like theBahamas is a logistically challenging and costly prospect. Prime Minister Thompson appealed to
the northern cays and the North Abaco mainland to move to safer ground in the south. Residents
of flood-prone areas, including informal settlements like The Mudd and Pigeon Pea in Abaco,
about 70% of which are Haitian migrants2, were urged to seek shelter during the storm3. Reports
from survivors indicated many did not respond to the evacuation warnings, for a variety of reasons(Feliciano, 2019). The Prime Minister strongly urged “all residents of East End, West End,
Sweetings Cay and Waters Cay on Grand Bahama Island migrate to the interior of the island forthe duration of the storm. Dozens of residents were evacuated from Grand Cay by boat leading
up to landfall. With many remaining on their islands, shelters were activated across thearchipelago (Fig. 1.6)4. Unfortunately, during Hurricane Dorian’s passage over the Grand
Bahama, one of these shelters lost its roof after a window was opened. Occupants re-evacuatedto a nearby church, reported as one of the few shelters on Grand Bahama that did not collapse
or flood (Faiola et al., 2019).
1 https://www.facebook.com/242news/photos/a.191082291304823/707229643023416/?type=3&theater
2 https://twitter.com/MalindaSmith/status/1168297116810133504?s=20
3 Official Press Release, August 28, www.bahamas.gov.bs
4 https://www.facebook.com/242news/posts/707874616292252?__tn__=K-R

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(a )

(b)

Figure 1.5. (a) Residents secure their house in Marsh Harbour (Source: Washington Post); (b)discounted rate advisory from Bahamasair (Source: Bahamasair).
As the storm lashed Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands for more than 36 hours, social media
began circulating videos documenting the rising waters in many homes. Some residents were
eventually trapped in their attics5 or on their roofs by the rising storm surge. The storm’s slow
progression left these victims trapped in dark, flooded and life-threatening conditions for days. It
is anticipated that the death toll reported in Section 1.2.1 will likely rise considerably as bodies ofthe drowned who sheltered-in-place in their homes are recovered.

5 Video from residents trapped in unfinished attic in home flooded to the soffit level on Grand Bahama
Island: https://twitter.com/i/status/1168599030261325825

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(a)
(b)
Figure 1.6. (a) List of the shelters available in Grand Bahama (Source: 242 News Bahamas);(b) Evacuation orders and warnings released on August 30 (Source: 242 News Bahamas)
1.3.1.2 Response and Recovery
Rescue and recovery operations were largely impeded by the storm’s slow progression throughGrand Bahama Island, as well as weather systems after the Dorian’s passage that continued
blowing winds ashore in the Abaco Islands, preventing the flood waters from receding. The
substantial debris, including parts of roofs, buildings and submerged boats, clogged waterways,
making coastal depths unpredictable and navigation charts unreliable. These conditions only
compound the understandable logistical challenges of rescue efforts spread across a number ofislands in the archipelago whose main points of access (air or harbor) have themselves beensignificantly damaged. A number of international vessels are ready to assist by sea andassessment teams and provisions are mobilizing from Nassau. Unfortunately, the damage toairports in both Marsh Harbour and Freeport have both delayed the delivery of criticalhumanitarian aid and more critically the medical evacuation of injured patients.
The following summarizes the cooperative efforts that are currently unfolding through various
governmental and non-governmental authorities at the national, regional and international level:● As of August 31st, the Caribbean Disaster Management Agency (CDEMA) assumed thelead coordination role for the Regional Response Mechanism in support of the Bahamas(CDEMA, 2019), staging its assessment teams in Nassau with representation from
CDEMA (Antigua and Turks and Caicos), Caribbean Media Corporation, Caribbean Public
Health Agency (CARPHA), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Port Managers
Association of the Caribbean (PMAC), private sector, United nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the University of the West Indies (UWI),PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
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●
●
●
●

●
●
●
●
●

and World Food Programme. A number of other international and regional governmental
and non-governmental organizations are also mobilizing to assist.
UN staff were pre-deployed in Nassau as part of a United Nations Disaster Assessment
Coordination Team6.
On September 1, the European Commission's Copernicus emergency satellite mapping
service was activated to provide satellite maps for the Abaco Islands7.
As of September 1, the Bahamian Department of Social Services (DOSS) was placed on
full alert to respond to victim’s needs; the DOSS team in Grand Bahama has been
supplemented with recruits from the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
As of September 2nd, the Bahamian NEMA is leading response coordination out of
Nassau8. NEMA issued a list of shelters for each district on August 1, 2019 (Governmentof the Bahamas, 2019), which was revised September 2, along with an online survey forcrowd-sourced damage and condition reports9.
As of September 2, 2019, US Coast Guard was assisting in Abaco and transporting the
injured to Princess Margaret Hospital on New Providence (Bahamas Local, 2019)
Rapid Assessment Teams from NEMA, the Red Cross and Bahamian Ministries of Health,National Security, Social Services and Works are working toward the heaviest impacted
areas (Bahamas Local, 2019).
The Bahamas Red Cross has requested assistance from the IFRC with some of its existing
assets prepositioned to Grand Bahama Island before landfall; assessments were set toinitiate on September 4 (IFRC, 2019).
The Government of the Bahamas has also requested that the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations perform an initial damage assessment.
The Bahamian Government is forming a Hurricane Relief and Recovery Committee andauthoring Exigency Orders to allow relief supplies from registered charitable organizations
to enter the affected areas free of customs duty and VAT (Bahamas Local, 2019).

1.3.2 Official Response: United States
US preparations for Hurricane Dorian spanned a number of states for nearly a week as projectionsof the slow-moving storm’s track were refined. Before Hurricane Dorian reached the UnitedStates, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia declared states of
emergency, facilitating deployment of resources and personnel to prepare populations projected
to be affected (Daugherty, 2019). Also, federal disaster declarations were requested by Florida(August 28th), Georgia (August 29th), South Carolina (August 31st), and North Carolina(September 1st)10. As Hurricane Dorian approached the United States, several states enacted
mandatory evacuations:● Mandatory evacuations were ordered for sixteen coastal Florida counties (Maxouris andLevenson, 2019). The state opened 85 general shelters and 25 special needs shelters. 93
nursing homes and assisted living facilities along the coast were evacuated. Seven
hospitals fully evacuated and 1 hospital partially evacuated.
6 Source: GDACS / UNOCHA - GDACS message boards
7 Source: EU - https://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ECHO-Flash/ECHO-Flash-List/yy/2019/mm/09
8 Source: GDACS - GDACS message boards
9 https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/51622a76aecd4f579777ebd760d283c4
10 https://www.fema.gov/disasters

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●

●

●
●
●

Georgia Governor Kemp issued an executive order requiring mandatory evacuations for
six counties on 2 September11. The executive order also required Georgia Department ofTransportation to establish westerly contraflow to allow evacuations to proceed more
quickly.
South Carolina Governor McMaster filed an executive order enacting a mandatory
evacuation, including healthcare facilities, in eight coastal counties on 2 September12. The
South Carolina Department of Transportation established westerly contraflow in the state
to allow evacuations to proceed more quickly.
North Carolina Governor Cooper ordered a mandatory evacuation of all barrier islands
along the coast on September 4th (Fox 8 Staff, 2019).
Parts of Virginia Beach were ordered to evacuate prior to Hurricane Dorian reaching thearea (CBS 6 Staff, 2019).
According to a September 3rd press release from the American Red Cross13, over 12,200
people sheltered at 171 Red Cross and community evacuation shelters in Florida,
Georgia, and South Carolina on the night of September 2. 11,700 of these stayed in 142
Florida shelters, 280 stayed in 10 Georgia shelters, and 290 people stayed in 19 South
Carolina shelters.

1.4 Report Scope
Hurricane Dorian offers the opportunity to investigate a powerful storm’s impact over multiple
geographies. The storm’s slow evolution and sustained intensity presented numerous challenges
in forecasting and preparation and imposed incredible stresses upon the built and naturalenvironments as well as victims who endured nearly two days of exposure to life-threatening wind,rain and storm surge. These conditions in the Bahamas led to considerable devastation, hindered
response and recovery efforts, and have given rise to a dire humanitarian crisis. Building andinfrastructure performance under such a record-breaking event (with respect to duration of
exposure to winds of a Category 5 intensity) is an important learning opportunity for natural
hazards engineering researchers. Although arriving with lesser intensity in the Carolinas, it isnonetheless important to document the impacts of this historic storm on the United States forcompleteness.
As such, the first product of the StEER response to Hurricane Dorian is this Preliminary Virtual
Reconnaissance Report (PVRR), which:
1. provides an overview of Hurricane Dorian’s impact on the built environment, including
the effects of its hurricane-force winds, coastal storm surge and cyclone-induced
tornadoes,
2. overviews the regulatory environment and construction practices in the Bahamas,
3. summarizes the preliminary reports of damage to a range of building and infrastructureclasses,
11 Official Press Release: https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2019-09-01/ahead-hurricane-dorian-gov-

kemp-orders-evacuation-six-counties-starting
12 https://governor.sc.gov/executive-branch/executive-orders
13 Press release: https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/2019/12-000-peoplein-evacuation-shelters-as-red-cross-prepares-for-hurricane-dorian.html
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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance15

4. establishes current conditions in the Bahamas with respect to access and services,and
5. provides recommendations to inform the continued study of this event.
The sections that follow will examine the hazard characteristics and impacts of Hurricane Dorianacross multiple geographies, continuing the format introduced in Section 1: first documenting theimpacts to the Bahamas with particular emphasis on the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands,
followed by a summary of impacts to the southeastern United States with emphasis on South andNorth Carolina. It is important to note that the situation in the Bahamas is extremely dire andcontinuously evolving. The discussions that follow represent the situation at the time this report
was authored by StEER’s Virtual Assessment Structural Team (VAST).

2.0 Hazard Characteristics
2.1 Meteorological Background
The following sections describe Hurricane Dorian’s evolution through the Caribbean and along
the Atlantic Coast of the United States through the Carolinas. Advisories issued by the National
Hurricane Center form the basis for the following discussion related to the meteorologicalbackground and development of Hurricane Dorian (NHC 2019b). See CIRA and Weather
Underground for additional details of the storm’s characteristics throughout its evolution.
2.1.1 Early Development
As illustrated in Figure 2.1, Dorian began as Tropical Depression #5 in the south Caribbean andwas upgraded to Tropical Storm Dorian on August 24, 2019. Dorian was first classified as a
Category 1 Hurricane at around 2:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) on August 28, 2019 when it wasnear St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands did feel the effectsof Dorian but the impacts were minor. Once the storm moved away from Puerto Rico, it maintained
a NW heading until it started turning towards the West at approximately 11:00 am EDT on August30, 2019. During this stretch Hurricane Dorian was in open waters where it began to gather
strength. At approximately 2:00 pm EDT on August 30, 2019, Dorian was classified as a Category
3 Hurricane with hurricane winds extending approximately 25 miles from the center of circulation
and a central pressure of 970 MB. It was upgraded to a Category 4 about 6.5 hours later with apressure of 950 MB. As it neared the Bahamas, it further strengthened to a Category 5 Hurricaneon the Saffir-Simpson Scale at 8:00 am EDT on September 1, 2019 with a pressure of 927 MB
and hurricane winds extending out 30 miles. Hurricane Dorian first made landfall on Elbow Cay
just to the east of Great Abaco Island.

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Figure 2.1. Hurricane Dorian’s Track from Tropical Depression to Landfall in the Northwestern
Bahamas (Source: Weather Underground)
2.1.2 Landfall on Abaco Islands
Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay at 12:40 pm local time as a Category 5 storm, witha central pressure of 910 mb, maximum sustained wind speeds of 185 mph, wind gusts up to 220
mph (NHC 2019b). Shortly thereafter, Dorian continued west and made landfall on Great Abaco
Island (see Fig. 2.2). The Category 5 storm eyewall approached the island around 9:30 am EDT
on September 1. At that time, the storm was moving at 8 mph nearly due west. During the entire
time Dorian was traversing Great Abaco it maintained its status as a Category 5 storm. At 11:00
am EDT, with 180 mph sustained speeds and 913 MB pressure, Dorian became the strongest
storm in modern records to hit the Northwest Bahamas. The sustained wind speed reached ashigh as 185 mph with gusts in excess of 220 mph. In addition to the increased wind speed, thetranslational speed of the storm decreased during the time it was affecting Great Abaco Island.
By the time the eyewall was approaching the east end of Grand Bahama Island at 9:00 pm EDT
on September 1st, the translation speed had reduced down to 5 mph. The time-stamped evolutionof Hurricane Dorian across the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands is documented in Figure 2.3.
The resulting storm surge is reported later in Section 2.2.1.

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Figure 2.2. Band 13 Infrared from GOES-16 as Dorian makes landfall near (left) Great Abaco,
Bahamas at 1800 UTC and (right) Grand Bahamas at 0300 UTC (imagery captured via
CIRA/RAMMB).

Figure 2.3. Evolution of Hurricane Dorian in the northern Bahamas (Source: USAID,
https://www.usaid.gov/crisis/hurricane-dorian)

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2.1.3 Landfall on Grand Bahama Island
The leading edge eyewall of Dorian arrived on the east end of Grand Bahama Island around 10:00
pm EDT (Figure 2.4). It was moving nearly due west at a speed of 5 mph with a central pressureof 915 MB and sustained wind speeds of 180 mph (NHC, 2019b). By around 3:00 pm EDT thetranslational wind speed had slowed to 2 mph with wind speeds reduced to 170 mph with gusts
still around 200 mph. The storm continued to slow reaching a speed of 1 mph by 4:00 am EDT. It
maintained this crawling speed across Grand Bahama while the wind speed continued todecrease. Through this time, it maintained heading nearly due west. At approximately 5 pm EDT
on September 2nd, Dorian was classified as a stationary storm. This classification continued, withthe storm moving very little until 8 am EDT on September 3 when it began moving at 1 mph along
a NW heading. The eyewall of Dorian was finally north of Grand Bahama around 1 pm EDT. Even
though the eye of the hurricane was off the island, significant winds and storm surge continued
as the hurricane moved towards the southeastern United States. It was not until 5:00 am EDT on
September 4th that all Tropical Storm Warnings were discontinued for the Grand Bahama Island.
The slow movement of Dorian over the Bahamas caused large portions of the Grand Bahamas
and Abaco Islands to experience Category 3 (or higher) wind speeds and ensuing storm surge(discussed later in Section 2.2.1), for over 12 hours, as shown in Figure 2.4.

Figure 2.4. Wind duration swaths in the Grand Bahamas and Abaco Islands, estimated by Sam
Lillo and Toomer Burg from NOAA reconnaissance data and satellite center fixes.
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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance192.1.3 Progression along US Coast
Dorian left the Bahamas on a NW heading with a translational speed of 5 mph and sustained windspeeds of 110 mph. It generally paralleled the Florida coastline maintaining its direction, forward
speed and sustained wind speed. During this time Dorian became larger with hurricane force
winds extending out 60 miles (NHC, 2019b). While paralleling the Florida coastline, the storm was
far enough from the coast that only Tropical Storm Force Winds (39-58 mph) affected thecoastline, based on surface observations. At approximately 11:00 pm EDT on September 3rd, thestorm heading turned towards the north with a slight increase in speed to 7 mph. At this point thestorm was 95 miles east of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The storm continued to grow while
maintaining generally the same heading such that 12 hours later, hurricane force winds andtropical storm force winds extended out 70 miles and 175 miles, respectively. By this time, thestorm had slightly weakened to 105 mph sustained winds. The storm then regained its strengthand continued to grow. At 5:00 pm EDT on September 4th Dorian started to gradually turn further
north and by 12:00 am EDT on September 5th, its heading was NNE and it had again reached asustained wind speed of 115 mph. The general trend continued with additional course changes
to the east. The next significant event in the storm development was hurricane force gusts
occurring along the South Carolina coast. This occurred at approximately 2:00 pm EDT on
September 5th when Dorian was reported being 60 miles south of Myrtle Beach. The edge of the
60 mile radius of hurricane force winds was just touching the coastline. Figure 2.5 shows thehurricane track and the extent of the hurricane and tropical storm winds as of 5:00 pm EDT. Figure
2.6 simultaneously displays the GOES-16 Band 13 Infrared image of the storm.

Figure 2.5. Track of Hurricane Dorian along the southeastern US coast at 5:00 pm EDT whenhurricane force winds first impacted the US coastline (Source: NOAA 2019 Hurricane Tracker)

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Figure 2.6. GOES-16 (East) Band 13 infrared imagery of Hurricane Dorian at approximate time
when hurricane force winds first impacted the US coastline (imagery captured via
CIRA/RAMMB)
2.1.4 Near-Landfall in US
Dorian continued to generally parallel the coast of South Carolina with continued hurricane force
winds affecting the coastline. At approximately 10:00 pm EDT on September 5th the storm turned
to a 45° heading and increased speed to 13 mph (NHC, 2019b). Multiple tornado warnings were
issued for North Carolina on Thursday morning. By 1:00 am EDT on September 6th the sustained
wind speed had dropped to 90 mph as hurricane force winds were just off Cape Lookout, North
Carolina. The eyewall of Dorian passed just to the east of Cape Lookout at around 5:00 am EDT.
Hurricane Dorian made landfall at approximately 8:35 am EDT on Cape Hatteras, North Carolina(Fig. 2.7). While Dorian was traversing Cape Hatteras, sustained and gust wind speeds were
measured by a Weatherflow station at Hatteras High School of 77 mph and 89 mph, respectively(NHC, 2019b). By 11:00 am EDT the storm had moved off the Outer Banks and into the Atlantic
Ocean. Figure 2.8 shows the progression of wind speed for the mobile monitoring tower T1 fromthe Florida Coastal Monitoring Program (FCMP) that was set up in Fort Fisher, NC during the time
Dorian passed with its eye approximately 20 miles off the coast.

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Figure 2.7. GOES-16 (East) Band 13 Infrared Imagery of Hurricane Dorian at Approximate
Time when Hurricane Dorian Made Landfall on Cape Hatteras, NC (imagery captured via
CIRA/RAMMB)

Figure 2.8. Wind speed time history from FCMP T1 in Fort Fisher, NC (33.97, -77.849) at aheight of 33 ft (Source: http://ds.weatherflow.com/storm/dorian#33.97,-77.849,13,19,!187877,1)

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance222.1.5 Preliminary Wind Fields
Preliminary Dorian wind fields for the United States, developed by Applied Research Associates(ARA), were released as part of the rapid response to Hurricane Dorian by the National Instituteof Standards and Technology (NIST). The wind field (completed on September 6, 2019) used thestorm track and measured pressures from the National Hurricane Center advisories up to number
53 (NHC, 2019b) and surface level readings taken up until 8:00 am EDT on September 6, 2019.
The values shown in Figure 2.9 are estimated peak 3-second wind gusts at an elevation of 33 ft(10 m). The methodology used to create these maps is similar to other products from past storms(e.g., Hurricanes Harvey and Michael) (ARA, 2019). Figure 2.10 was also released by the National
Hurricane Center projecting the extent of Hurricane Force and Tropical Storm Force Winds along
the path of Hurricane (NHC, 2019c). As this figure confirms, Dorian (as a post-tropical cyclone)
continued to deliver hurricane-force winds all the way through its landfall near Sambro Creek in
Nova Scotia, Canada, at 7:15 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time on September 7, 2019 (Ellis et al.,2019).

Figure 2.9. Preliminary wind speed maps of peak 3 second gusts at a 33 ft height from
Hurricane Dorian in the US (ARA 2019) [Full resolution image and dataset available at
DesignSafe Recon Portal]
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Figure 2.10. Cumulative wind history map of Hurricane Dorian (NHC 2019c) (Source:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at5+shtml/023607.shtml?swath#contents/)

2.2 Storm Surge and Coastal Flooding
2.2.1 Storm Surge and Flooding: Bahamas
Hurricane Dorian brought significant storm surge impacts to many coastal areas along or near
the storm’s path. On both Abaco and Grand Bahama Island, storm surge levels were expected torise up to 23 feet (7.0 m) above normal tide levels, flooding inland areas, and accompanied bylarge, destructive waves near the coast. Observed storm surges of 12-18 ft (3.7-5.5 m) above
normal tide levels were reported on Grand Bahama Island through the night of 2-3 September(NHC, 2019d). Figure 2.11 displays peak water levels above mean sea level (MSL) for Abaco andGrand Bahama Islands, projected by the Coastal Emergency Risks Assessment (CERA) basedon an ADCIRC computational real-time forecast, using the September 1 and 2 hurricane forecast
tracks, respectively.

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance24Figure 2.11. Projected maximum water heights above mean sea level near Great Abaco andGrand Bahamas (CERA, 2019a).
The satellite image from Google Maps in Figure 2.12 shows the Freeport District of Grand
Bahama Island before/following Hurricane Dorian, noting vast areas submerged by coastal
flooding. The yellow lines in Figure 2.12b outline the coastal boundary before the storm flooded
the area.

Figure 2.12. Satellite images of Grand Bahama Island (a) before and (b) after Hurricane Dorianpassed through the region on Monday, September 02, 2019. (Source:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/weather/hurricane-dorian-bahamas-before-and-after-wxctrnd/index.html)

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2.2.2 Storm Surge and Flooding in Southeastern United States
Hurricane Dorian’s northward track brought considerable storm surge-related flooding to coastal
counties in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Figure 2.13 shows the NHC’s storm surge
advisory forecast from 1100 EDT on 4 September 2019. Maximum water levels (conditioned on
the coincident occurrences of peak storm surge and high tide) were projected to reach depths
above ground between 2-8 feet (0.6-2.4 m) from northeastern Florida to Virginia. Figure 2.14
shows the CERA projected peak water levels in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North
Carolina based on NHC Advisories 45, 48, and 50. As suggested by Fig. 2.14, southeast Florida
was spared from extreme coastal flooding due to Hurricane Dorian. Neighborhoods in St. Johns
County, including the St. Augustine neighborhoods of Davis Shores, Lincolnville, the Castillo de
San Marcus, and King and Granada Streets, experienced minor flooding (Fig. 2.15).

Figure 2.13. NHC maximum above-ground water depth projections for the U.S. East Coast,
conditioned on the coincidence of peak storm surge with high tide, based on 1100EDT advisory
forecast from 4 September 2019. (Source:
https://twitter.com/NHC_Atlantic/status/1169276224197160960/photo/1)

Figure 2.14. CERA forecast peak water levels for NHC Advisories 45, 48, and 50 (September
4-5, 2019) (CERA, 2019b).
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Fig. 2.15. Flooding in Davis Shores, FL, a community on Anastasia Island (Gardner, 2019).
More significant coastal flooding was observed between Charleston, SC and New Bern, NC (Fig.
2.14b-c). While storm surge depths remained below worst-case predictions, over 50 streets wereclosed in Charleston, SC due to flooding from combined rainfall and storm surge impacts (City ofCharleston, 2019; TWC, 2019b). Other areas along the North and South Carolina coastlines wereaffected, including Debordieu, SC and Garden City, NC.
Figure 2.16 shows the spatial distribution of peak water levels above mean sea level from the
CERA forecast based on NHC advisory 52 (6 September, 2019, 6:00). As indicated in Figure
2.17, severe flooding occurred in North Carolina near the Outer Banks, where the storm madelandfall as a Category 1 hurricane over Cape Hatteras. Figure 2.17 shows preliminary water levels
recorded by NOAA near Cape Hatteras, where storm surge elevations exceeded the major flood
threshold, reaching 5.3 feet (1.6 m) over the Mean High High Water (MHHW) datum. Nearby
areas on the Outer Banks and Ocracoke Island experienced similar major flooding due to thehurricane’s storm surge and rainfall. Figure 2.18 shows high water marks at an Ocracoke Island
residence, with the height of Dorian flooding well above those of Hurricane Matthew (2016) andother past flood events. Other reports described catastrophic flooding, with waters rising up to 7
feet (2.1 m) on the Outer Banks.

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Figure 2.16. CERA peak water levels for NHC Advisory 52 (September 6, 2019) (CERA, 2019b)

Figure 2.17. NOAA Preliminary observed water levels near Cape Hatteras, NC from 5-7 Sept.,2019 (NOAA, 2019b)

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Figure 2.18. High water marks representing historic flood events on Ocracoke Island (Source:
Scott McIntyre/New York Times).

2.4 Rainfall and Inland Flooding
Hurricane Dorian brought heavy precipitation that exacerbated flooding in the Bahamas. The
storm’s rainfall totals in the southeastern United States were less than those from Hurricane
Matthew (2016) and Hurricane Florence (2018), with the heaviest rain bands remaining offshoreas the storm propagated northward from Florida to Virginia. Rainfall accumulation totals were
driven by the storm’s size, forward speed, and strength of updrafts inside the hurricane (Kelley,2019).

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2.4.1 Rainfall: Bahamas
Figure 2.19 shows rainfall accumulations estimated by NASA for the Bahamas and other areasof the Caribbean from 0200 EDT on 28 August 2019 to 0500 on 3 September 2019 (NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center, 2019). Rainfall estimates were obtained using observations fromsatellites in the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission and processed using NASA’s
Integrated Multi-satEllite REtrievals for GPM (IMERG) algorithm. Figure 2.19 indicates that rainfall
totals exceeded 2 feet (0.6 m) over parts of Grand Bahama Island and The Abaco Islands by 3
September 2019; as of 4 September, rainfall accumulation estimates in these regions wereincreased to 3 feet (0.9 m) (Kelley, 2019).

Figure 2.19. NASA IMERG Precipitation Accumulation Estimations, 28 August - 3 September,
2019 (Source: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 2019)
2.4.2 Rainfall and Inland Flooding: United States
Inland rainfall during Hurricane Dorian was less widespread than during previous Hurricanes
Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018), in part due to the storm not crossing a frontal zone. Between
4 and10 inches of rainfall were expected within 50 miles of the coast, with higher rainfall totals insome local areas (Masters, 2019). Hurricane Dorian’s heaviest rain bands remained offshore of
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Florida and Georgia; coastal areas received between 1.84-5.68 inches (4.7-14.4 cm) of total
rainfall. North and South Carolina received larger rainfall totals: between 0700 EDT on 1
September and 0400 EDT on 6 September, areas in North and South Carolina received between
5.54-10.64 inches (14.1-27.0 cm) of total rainfall. As of 6 September 2019, heavy rain continued
in east and central North Carolina as rainfall rates increased in southeastern Virginia. Preliminarystorm rainfall totals for selected locations in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina
are reported in Appendix B.
Preliminary rainfall totals in South Carolina and southern North Carolina ranged from 1.91 inches
in Clio, SC (~120 km inland) and 3.73 inches in Lumberton, NC (~90 km inland) to 9.56 inches
and 14.03 inches in the coastal communities of Myrtle Beach and Litchfield, SC, respectively(WDPE, 2019a). With these smaller inland rainfall totals, risk of inland riverine flooding was
reduced in the Carolinas as shown in Figure 2.20. Only the Waccamaw River continued with aflood warning as of 6 September 2019 at 11:00 PM EDT. The river was expected to reachmoderate flood levels on 6 September and steadily drop over the following days. However,flooding was anticipated in the communities of Lees Landing, Riverfront South, Pitch Landing,and Savannah Bluff, as well as surrounding swamps and marshes (WDPE, 2019b).

Figure 2.20. Flood warnings (indicated by green shading) for the Waccamaw River in theeastern Carolinas as of 6 September 2019 (WDPE, 2019b).

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2.5 Tornadoes
As of 7 September 2019, there were 66 tornado warnings associated with Hurricane Dorian. The
majority of these (59) were issued on 6 September in South Carolina and North Carolina as
Hurricane Dorian approached offshore (Fig. 2.21). The NWS had not yet finalized intensity ratings
at the time of this report, but early reports confirm tornado impacts in Emerald Isle, NC (areapreviously surveyed by StEER following Hurricane Florence in 2019), North Myrtle Beach, SC,
and Carolina Shores in Brunswick County, NC, where a tornado damaged about 40 structures.

Figure 2.21. Cyclone-induced tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service.
Colored circles indicate the location of Dorian, with colors indicating the date, using the samecolor scheme as for tornado warnings (Source: National Weather Service).

3.0 Codes and Construction Practices: Bahamas
A summary of the building inventory’s 96,863 building units and 126,493 dwelling units (seeAppendix C) suggests that Abaco had 6,786 housing units and 8,113 building units and Grand
Bahama had 13,697 housing units and 20,337 building units (Dept. of Statistics, 2017a). Moreup-to-date information on the housing stock may be inferred from the record of permits issued(Dept. of Statistics, 2017b). Reports suggest that the building inventory in the most heavily
affected areas was low-rise and included single and multi-family homes (which may use wood,concrete or masonry typologies), resorts/hotels/rental properties, light industrial/marina facilities
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and commercial construction serving retail and tourism industries. The construction practices insome regions may be restricted by architectural requirements that further guide the typologies
used, e.g., all buildings in Hope Town on Elbow Cay must adhere to Bahamian Architecture at
the discretion of Town Planning. Quality of construction and construction material preferences arealso shaped by economic capacity, as suggested by Silbert Mills of the Bahamas Christian
Network, “[code] compliance is generally tight for those who can afford it. Risks are higher inpoorer neighbourhoods, with wooden homes in low-lying areas” (Al Jazeera, 2019). This alludes
to low-lying informal settlements such as The Mudd and Pigeon Peas in Abaco, occupied by lowincome families who employed lightweight materials in unregulated construction activities.
As further observed by Mills, “The Bahamas archipelago is no stranger to hurricanes.” Elbow Cay(Abaco) had previously suffered significant damage from Hurricane Floyd (1999) and both Abaco
and Grand Bahamas Islands were severely impacted by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 (IFRC, 2019).
However it is unclear that substantive changes to building codes were enacted as a result of thoseexperiences, as wind design in the Bahamas still regulated in accordance with the 2003 Bahamas
Building Code (BBC), 3rd Edition, which references the 1988 standard of ASCE: “buildings andother structures, and every portion thereof, shall be designed and constructed to meet therequirements of Section 6 of Standard 7-88 of the American Society of Civil Engineers…, basedon a fifty-year mean recurrence interval.” Some glimpse into construction practices is further
offered by Mills who states that “homes are required to have metal reinforcements for roof beams
to withstand winds into the upper limits of a Category 4 hurricane” (Aljazeera).
Specifically, the 2003 BBC specifies a minimum factor of safety of 1.5, that all buildings are
required to be considered as located in Exposure D if 1500 ft within the coast (Exposure C
elsewhere), and that all buildings be designated with an Importance Category I per ASCE 7-88
(Importance Factor equal to 0.88). While a design wind speed is not directly specified in the BBC,a review of local construction practice and accounts from design engineers indicates that 150
mph 3-second gust at 10 m height above ground level is currently used. Altogether, this design
wind speed and relevant factors, including a directionality factor of 0.85, results in a minimum
design velocity pressure of 64 psf for Exposure C, or 76 psf for Exposure D. There is no explicit
specification of considerations for storm surge or other flood loads in the Bahamas Building
Code.14

4.0 Damage to Buildings
4.1 Building Damage: Bahamas
Estimates suggest that 21,000 homes have been damaged by the wind, storm surge and flooding
Dorian brought to the Bahamas (Miles, 2019; NHC, 2019). As of September 3, 2019, the Red
Cross estimates more than 13,000 houses, or about 45% of the homes in Grand Bahama and
Abaco Islands, were severely damaged or destroyed (Espinosa et al., 2019). Figure 4.1 provides
14https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/wcm/connect/d7ebcbad-f9b6-42e3-aff2-

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an overview of the damage extent based on analysis of satellite data by UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and coordinating partners.

Figure 4.1. Overview of the extent of devastation in Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands,
indicated by number of destroyed buildings within a 10 km2 hexagonal grid (Source: UN Officefor the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).
4.1.1 Abaco Islands
This section overviews the impacts to the Abaco Islands where Hurricane Dorian made its first(Elbow Cay) and then subsequent (Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco Island) landfalls. Each major
district is examined, though cautioning that damage to some areas may be greater than reported
herein as information is limited based on access and priority in the recovery effort.
4.1.1.1 Central Abaco District, Great Abaco Island
Marsh Harbour is the largest town in the Central Abaco District on Great Abaco Island, the site of
Dorian’s second landfall in the Bahamas. The building inventory in Marsh Harbour includes
commercial and residential construction catering both to residents and tourists, as well as several
informal settlements including The Mudd and Pigeon Peas where an estimated 600 residences
and 45 commercial shops were located per a 2013 report by the Department of Environmental

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Health Services15. The Central Abaco District experienced severe storm surge, with the National
Hurricane Center predicting 5.5-7 m of storm surge above the normal tide levels with even higher
wave impacts. Early reports indicate most buildings were significantly damaged by wind and/or
storm surge, with numerous roofs removed and wall collapses in both commercial and residential
construction (Figs. 4.2, 4.3). Even with near-universal damage, there are a number of buildingsthat exhibited little if any significant damage under these extreme demands and are deserving ofcloser examination in on-site investigations.

Figure 4.2. Aerial photo of the damage from Dorian at Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island.
The center of the photograph is located at approximately [26.531406, -77.063431], taken facing
West. (Source: CNN)

15 https://eh.gov.bs/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Shanty-Town-Bahamas-Report.pdf

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Figure 4.3. (top) Aerial photo of the damage from Dorian in Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco
Island showing the performance across a range of building occupancy classes including metalbuilding systems [Approximate Location: 26.537017, -77.063145 (Looking West)] (Source:
CNN); (bottom) Closer view of the Pea, informal settlement located behind the metal buildings
at the center of the top image (Source: Orlando Sentinel)

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance36Notable properties in this community include the Island Breeze Hotel, whose roof was badly
damaged (Wesner Childs and Brackett, 2019), Abaco Lodge, which was destroyed, andAbaco Club at Winding Bay and Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour Marina, which
both report damages but not as significant as other properties nearby (Nagle Myers, 2019).
Regulated home construction demonstrated mixed performance, with a key factor being thelevel of storm surge at that location (Fig. 4.4) and the structure’s elevation above grade (Fig.
4.5). The eye of Dorian directly passed over the informal settlements at The Mudd and Pigeon
Peas (adjacent to The Mudd to the southeast), which is the lowest-elevation area on Great
Abaco Island with peak elevation around 20 m above sea level (see Topographic Map inAppendix D). These settlements were decimated by the storm surge reported previously in
Section 2.2.1 (see Fig. 4.6). As homes in these communities are typically constructed on gradewith discarded metal and wood without any regulation, their performance is unsurprising,although nonetheless tragic.

Figure 4.4. Aerial photo of debris field of largely residential construction destroyed by storm
surge in Marsh Harbour in Great Abaco Island, Bahama (Source: Orlando Sentinel)

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Figure 4.5. Damage to roof and walls of a pair of homes at an upper elevation on Great
Abaco Island (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
While not diminishing the catastrophic damage, particularly to residential construction in the
Marsh Harbour landfall region, a cross section of residential, commercial and industrial buildings
did appear to perform well, sustaining only minor damage when subjected to these longduration, high intensity wind fields, e.g., see Figures 4.7 and 4.8. A case in point is the Marsh
Harbour Healthcare Center, which just opened in 2017 (construction began in 2012). This
critical facility shows no visible structural damage from wind or flooding and was functional,
serving as a shelter during landfall, and treating patients injured in Dorian at the time this report
was authored. Roof cover loss was observed in accessory buildings, as shown in Figures 4.9
and 4.10. Evidence of the intensity of winds in this locale can be inferred from the loss of dense
foliage in the vegetation surrounding the hospital (Fig. 4.9b) and the light pole snapped at thebase near the accessory buildings (Fig. 4.10). Another case in point is the Marsh Harbour
Government Complex, which became a makeshift shelter for those fleeing collapsing buildings
during the hurricane’s passage over Abaco16. The exact status and performance of other criticalfacilities is not known at this time, but the Bahamian government reports that all of the shelters
on Abaco are open and functioning with generators (Maura, 2019).

16 https://www.accuweather.com/en/videos/w3v2wkzq

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Figure 4.6. Aerial imagery of The Mudd and Pigeon Pea on Great Abaco following thepassage of Hurricane Dorian (Source: Our News Bahamas); (bottom) view looking inland
towards The Mudd, (Source: still frame taken from a video by Seaport Secrets Cafe andSeafood Market with Google Maps overlay).

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Figure 4.7. Aerial photo of the damage from Dorian at Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island,
Bahamas. Note the surviving commercial and industrial buildings with minor roof damage. [Thelarge building in the center is located at 26.532695 / -77.062676]. The photo was taken facing
SW. (Source: CNN)

Figure 4.8. Aerial photo with a number of larger residences with minimal exterior signs ofdamage in Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island. [The blue home at the center of the photo islocated at 26.555458, -77.023363], with the photo taken facing East. (Source: Daily Mail UK)

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(a)

(b)
Figure 4.9. Aerial view of Marsh Harbour Healthcare Center [Located at 26.534, -77.070] andaccessory buildings (a) before Hurricane Dorian and (b) afterward, exhibiting no significant
structural damage. Nearby trees are debarked. (Source of pre-event image: Google Maps;
Source of post-event image: U.S. Coast Guard)

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Figure 4.10. Roof cover loss at accessory buildings at Marsh Harbour Healthcare Center
accessory structures [Located at 26.534, -77.070]. Note the snapped light pole in the foreground(Source: https://twitter.com/StevenCejas/status/1168910504183652353)

Examples of damage sustained to community buildings like the Forest Heights Academy, aprivate high school, and St. Frances De Sales Catholic Church in Marsh Harbour are shown in
Figures 4.11 and 4.12, respectively. Forest Heights Academy (Fig. 4.11) experienced significant
flooding, nearly complete loss of roof cover and structural damage. St. Frances De Sales Catholic
Church (Fig. 4.12) does not have visible structural damage, with the exception of some roof coverloss.

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Figure 4.11. Aerial view of Forest Heights Academy, a private high school in Marsh Harbour[Located at 26.517871, -77.070266] (Source: Weather Channel)

Figure 4.12. Aerial view of St. Frances De Sales Catholic Church in Marsh Harbour [Located at
26.227, -77.0655] (Source: Weather Channel)

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4.1.1.2 Elbow Cay
Dorian’s first landfall in the Bahamas was at Elbow Cay, an 8-mi (13-km)-long, narrow barrier
island off the mainland of Great Abaco whose main settlement is Hope Town (the seat of the
district bearing the same name). This cay is 4 mi (6.4 km) east of Marsh Harbour, with the Atlantic
Ocean running along its east coast and South Abaco Sound on its western coast. The cay has anumber of residences, small businesses and rental properties/hotels, including the Hopetown
Harbour Lodge which appears to have sustained damage (Fig. 4.13). The conditions on theisland following Dorian’s landfall were documented by eyewitnesses as “catastrophic” (Wnek,2019). Some of the limited aerial (Fig. 4.14) and surface (Fig. 4.15) imagery provides anillustration of the damage observed.

Figure 4.13. Before and after Photo of Hope Town Harbour Lodge [26.536, -76.958] on Elbow
Cay (Source: https://twitter.com/JohnMoralesNBC6/status/1168638139163906052/photo/1)

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(a)

(b)
Figure 4.14. Aerial photos of extensive building damage in Elbow Cay. (a) This photograph is
located at approximately (26.503268, -76.980198), facing West (Source: Time.com); (b) thepink house on the shore at the top left of this site near Hope Town is located at (26.540680, 76.960133), with the photo taken looking West. (Source: UK Daily Mail)

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Figure 4.15. Photos from Hope Town on Elbow Cay following the passage of Hurricane Dorian(https://twitter.com/JohnMoralesNBC6/status/1168639807997796354?s=20)
4.1.1.3 Grand Cay Island
Grand Cay is one of the smaller districts of the Bahamas and part of the Abaco Islands, locatedsouth of Walker's Cay. With a population of 383 people in 102 occupied dwellings (2010 Census
data, Bahamas.gov), mostly fishermen. Grand Cay is typically accessed via boat. Limited
information is available at this time but social media reports suggest it may have not beensignificantly impacted17.
4.1.1.4 Green Turtle Cay
Green Turtle Cay is a small barrier island to the northeast of Great Abaco Island. It isapproximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long by 0.5 miles wide. The main settlement is known as New
Plymouth and the population is estimated to be less than 500 people. The architecture of someof the older homes in the village is unique in the Bahamas with steep-pitched roofs that camefrom the original settlers from New England. Due to the fact that the cay has very minimal
elevation, flooding and wave impacts added significantly to the wind hazard during the passageof Hurricane Dorian. Several videos (Video 1, Video 2) show flooding (~1 m) prior to the peak of
Dorian’s intensity. Pre- and post-Dorian imagery is shown in Fig. 4.16. Post-landfall information
with respect to structural performance is still limited at the time of this report. Second hand reports
from Green Turtle Cay indicate “total devastation, people trapped in collapsed homes, the primary

17 https://twitter.com/_CharismaL/status/1168228827048435712

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school shelter failed, roads impassable” (Source: Twitter). Fortunately, all persons are accounted
for based on limited communication via satellite phones (Abaco Forum); no fatalities reported.

Figure 4.16. Before Hurricane Dorian struck Green Turtle Cay (satellite image taken Oct. 25,
2018) and after Hurricane Dorian struck Green Turtle Cay (satellite image taken Sept. 5,2019). Images processed by Maxar Technologies via Reuters (Source: ABC News)
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4.1.1.5 Moore’s Island
No information on the condition of Moore’s Island has become available at this time. Its location
was exposed to a direct hit from the eyewall of Dorian, so impacts of severe storm surge and highwinds are expected. Pre-Dorian, major improvements were scheduled for infrastructure, including
roads, the airport runway, water mains, and key structures (Bahama Press, 2016), but it isunknown whether these improvements were implemented or how they performed.
4.1.1.6 North Abaco District, Grand Abaco Island
Footage driving through Cooper’s Town18 documents damage to multi-family residential
construction ranging from loss of roof cover and sheathing to complete detachment of the roof
system (Fig. 4.17). Evidence of vehicles transported by storm surge is also evident in the footage.
Treasure Cay Resort lost its roof, reported some wall collapses and significant flood damage(Nagle Myers, 2019). An aerial perspective of the impacts is offered by Figure 4.18.

Figure 4.17. Damage to roofs of multi-family residential construction in Cooper’s Town inNorth Abaco District of Abaco Island. (Source:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1168701649847820289, Footage by Amanda Degregory)

18 https://twitter.com/i/status/1168701649847820289 (Footage by Amanda Degregory)

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Figure 4.18. Aerial view of damage in Treasure Cay showing varying levels of performance,from minor roof cover loss to complete collapse. Photo is taken looking north towards(26.672372, -77.279685). (Source: Association of Bahamas Marinas).
4.1.1.7 South Abaco District, Grand Abaco Island
Limited information is available for South Abaco District. The Facebook page for a local
establishment reported minimal damage overall in Sandy Point and the surrounding area,
including the Sandpiper Inn (Nagle Myers, 2019).
4.1.2 Grand Bahama Island
This section similarly documents reports from various districts on Grand Bahama Island.
4.1.2.1 Freeport City District
The second largest city in the Bahamas, Freeport and its famous oceanfront district, Lucaya,
experienced significant damage in Hurricane Dorian (Fig. 4.19), in great part due to the storm
surge previously discussed in Section 2.2.1. Freeport remained largely inaccessible until
September 5, limiting the rescue and recovery efforts and delaying assessments of damage.
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Eyewitnesses reported the need to relocate shelters frequently as the surge continued to riseduring Hurricane Dorian’s stall over Grand Bahama Island. These rising floodwaters also reached
the emergency room of the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport, which forced the evacuation ofpatients seeking treatment for Dorian-related injuries19. Similar impacts were experienced at mostof the healthcare facilities in the area (Espinosa et al., 2019). Imagery that has circulated affirms
significant damage to residential construction (e.g., Figs. 4.20-4.22). The Pelican Bay Hotel at
Lucaya in Freeport has also reported damage (Nagle Myers, 2019). Damage to engineeredbuildings was also noted, including the University of Bahamas North Campus (Fig. 4.23).
Several marinas and clubs on the south side of Freeport reported little to no damage to theirbuildings. In fact, despite being positioned in the southern eyewall of Dorian for a number of hours,
structural damage does not appear to be uniformly extensive (see Figs. 4.24-4.25), but moreisolated than what has been revealed in Marsh Harbor and other areas in the Abaco Islands.
Figure 4.1 demonstrates that, based on analysis of satellite data, the density of destroyedbuildings in Freeport was much lower than in Marsh Harbor.

Figure 4.19. Aerial photo of severe flood-induced damage to buildings in Freeport, note thedisplaced shipping containers. (Source: Adam DelGiudice/AFP/Getty Images/Vox).

19 https://twitter.com/i/status/1168731060458467328

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance50Figure 4.20. Failed roof and partial failure of upper story walls of residential structure in
Freeport (Source: Scott Olson/Getty Images/Vox)

Figure 4.21. Remains of an unreinforced concrete block masonry single-family dwelling
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Figure 4.22. Unreinforced concrete block wall blowout in Freeport (Source: Matias J.
Ocner/Miami Herald).

Figure 4.23. Wall cladding damage at the University of the Bahamas Northern Campus(Source: Dorothy Hall St. James).
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Figure 4.24. Aerial view of the damage to residential homes in Freeport (Source: NY
Times)

Figure 4.25. Varying levels of structural damage to residential homes in Lady Lake,
Freeport (Source: Miami Herald)

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4.1.2.2 East Grand Bahama District
Pelican Point is a rural community in East Grand Bahama Island and is not highly populated. This
area was subjected to high winds for 25 hours, experiencing the eyewall of the hurricane. Reports
from Pelican Point do note minor damage to hotels (Baran, 2019). Residents of East Grand
Bahama District stated that the majority of homes were destroyed (Oppmann et al., 2019), e.g.,
Figure 4.26. High Rock is located in the East Grand Bahama District and was also heavily
impacted. The police station and clinic located in High Rock were severely damaged (Figs. 4.27
and 4.28, respectively) along with wood-framed and concrete/masonry residences (Figs. 4.294.31).

Fig. 4.26 Residential home in the East Grand Bahama Island (Source: CNN )PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
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Fig. 4.27 Structural damage to the police station in High Rock, Bahamas. Source: CNN

Fig. 4.28 Total building collapse of clinic in High Rock, Bahamas. Source: CNN

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Figure 4.29. Inside view of home damaged in High Rock, Bahamas. (Source: Angel Valentin
and Oliver Laughland)

Figure 4.30. Wood-framed residential damage in High Rock, Bahamas. (Source: SkyNews)

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Figure 4.31. Damage to concrete/masonry residential construction in High Rock, Bahamas.
(Source: SkyNews)
4.1.2.3 West Grand Bahama District
Limited information is available about the performance of specific buildings in West Grand
Bahama, including West End, the oldest town and westernmost settlement on Grand Bahama
Island. Figure 4.1 indicates some buildings were destroyed, but damage does not appear to beas widespread as in other parts of the island. However, the need for aid suggests damage in this
district. It is reported that Old Bahama Bay Resort at West End, a luxury resort complete with a
72-slip marina for yachts, is functioning as a command center for all donated supplies from nearby
Florida (Borygass, 2019). The need for the resort to fill this role is not new; it did the same in 2016
when 95% of the buildings in Eight Mile Rock and Holmes Rock were damaged by Hurricane
Matthew (Ward and Faiola, 2019b).
4.1.4 Other Bahamian Islands
New Providence Island, which houses the capital of Nassau and is the most populous island with
(246,329 reported in the 2010 census), did report flooding (Fig. 4.32). Flooding was also
documented in Atlantis Resort in New Providence20. Islands in the southeastern and central
Bahamas were also spared by Hurricane Dorian. That includes the Exumas, Cat Island, San
Salvador, Rum Cay, Long Island, Acklins/Crooked Island, Ragged Island, Mayaguana, andInagua.

20 https://twitter.com/i/status/1168478898620981253

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Figure 4.32. Flooded gas station [Located at 25.061413, -77.347805] on New Providence
Island (Source: https://twitter.com/mvp242/status/1168469847992426496).

4.2 Building Damage: United States
Structural damage in Hurricane Dorian, in the US, was largely confined to properties affected bytornadoes spawned during the hurricane’s approach (see Section 2.5). The New Brunswick, NC
tornado is reported to have damaged 40 structures, including a number of single family site-built
homes (Figs. 4.33 & 4.34). A separate tornado in Emerald Isle, NC (preliminary rating of EF1 by
the NWS) damaged a mobile home park (Figure 4.35) though thankfully no injuries or fatalities
were reported. The same area in Emerald Isle, NC experienced an EF2 tornado in 2018. A
number of buildings in North and South Carolina also experienced flood damage, though thesedamages are largely non-structural in nature.

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Figure 4.33. Failure of roof structure of single family home in Brunswick County, NC [Locatedapproximately 33.921079, -78.576802] (Source: CNN)

Figure 4.34. Envelope and structural damage to a row of single family homes in Brunswick, NC[Located approximately 33.921079, -78.576802] (Source: CNN)

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance59Figure 4.35. Boardwalk RV park in Emerald Isle, NC damaged by a tornado induced by
Hurricane Dorian (Source: Patch.com). From available photographs, the RVs had minimalanchorage to resist the tornado-induced winds.

5.0 Damage to Infrastructure
5.1 Infrastructure Damage: Bahamas
At the time this report was authored, the extent of impacts to infrastructure is not yet fully known
as much of the area remains unassessed due to the level of devastation, debris and logisticalchallenges. As the infrastructure in the affected islands of the Bahamas was largely submergedby the storm surge, damage is projected to be “unprecedented” (Ortiz, 2019). A notableinfrastructure deficit will be drinking water distribution systems as well as freshwater sources ofdrinking water, given the strong likelihood of saltwater intrusion. Severe impact tocommunications, power and transportation are also projected (UN OCHA, 2019):● In both the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands, there are considerable access restrictions
due to flooding and debris fields (Fig. 5.1) which have hindered recovery efforts
substantially.
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There was widespread damage to transmission lines and poles across the Abaco andGrand Bahama Islands (Fig. 5.2). Power losses were widespread not only in these islands,
but also across New Providence (attributed to moisture ingress at a primary substation,
resulting in a cascading failure of the system).

The following subsections summarize specific known impacts to infrastructure such as roads andbridges, power and telecommunications, ports and other lifelines at the district-level in some of
the most impacted islands.

Figure 5.1. Flooded roads and spread damage in Freeport (Source: Fox 13 News)

Figure 5.2. (left) Downed power lines, stripped trees and collapsed homes in Marsh Harbour,
Bahamas, Sept. 1st (Source: ABC News); (right) snapped utility poles in Spring City (Source:News Press)

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5.1.1 Abaco Islands
Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, formerly known as The Marsh Harbour
International Airport, experienced significant flooding in Hurricane Dorian (Fig. 5.3). However, atthe time of this report, the airport was being used again for mobilizing relief efforts. Great Abaco
Island’s other means of access (boat) has also been affected by Dorian with damage to its many
harbors. For example, the Marsh Harbor Government Port serves as the main entry point foraccess to Abaco was unable to accept ships early on in the recovery. Figure 5.4 provides a visual
depiction of its condition shortly after the storm. Another air strip in South Abaco District, Sandy
Point Airport, was unaffected by the storm (Law, 2019). The United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports the following as of 10 September (UNOCHA, 2019b):“Most seaports are operational, with the exception of those located in East Grand Bahama.
Airports are becoming increasingly operational: Grand Bahama International Airport, West End(private), Walkers Cay, Moore’s Island, Cistern Field, Great Harbour Cay, Treasure Cay andSandy Point. The following airports have limited operational capacity: Spanish Cay (private),
Scotland Cay, and Leonard M Thompson International (Marsh Harbor).”

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Figure 5.3. Comparison of the Leonard M. Thompson International Airport [26.511, -77.085]
serving in Marsh Harbour before (above) and after (below) the Hurricane Dorian 2019.)(source: above: Google Maps, below: U.S. Coast Guard via Weather Channel)

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Figure 5.4. Comparison of marina (26.532, -77.054) in Marsh Harbor, Bahamas, before(above) and after (below) Dorian’s storm surge on September 2, 2019. (Sources: before
image: Google Maps, after image: U.S. Coast Guard via Weather Channel)
5.1.2 Grand Bahama Island
Grand Bahama Island was largely inaccessible until September 5, with severe damage toroadways on this island inhibiting rescue efforts and aid distribution. Grand Bahama Highway
was completely submerged and blocked by debris (Figs. 5.5-5.6). Similar conditions were notedat a number of other primary and secondary roads in the Freeport area (Figs. 5.7-5.8).

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance64Figure 5.5. Grand Bahama Highway blocked by debris (Source: Miami Herald)

Figure 5.6. Grand Bahama Highway at Fortune Bay, Freeport. (Source: Miami Herald)

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance65Figure 5.7. Freeport main road on September 3 (Source: NY Times. Ramon
Espinosa/Associated Press)

Figure 5.8. Aerial view of damaged roads near Freeport. Source: NY Times
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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance66Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport was submerged (Fig. 5.9) with a reported 6
feet (2 m) of standing water (Espinosa et al., 2019). Live reports on CNN on September 4
confirmed that the domestic terminal has been completely destroyed; the international terminal isstill standing but has obvious damage and is without power (Fig. 5.10). Small planes weredamaged to an unrecognizable extent, with parts washed into the surviving terminal building. All
the airport’s perimeter fencing was stripped, and the runway was completely covered in debris.
Notwithstanding, the airport is currently operational for humanitarian efforts (UN OCHA, 2019b).

Figure 5.9. Comparison of Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport (26.548, -78.696) in2005 (left) and on September 2, 2019 after (right), flooded with Dorian’s storm surge (Source:
CNN)

Figure 5.10. Damage to terminal building at Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport(26.548, -78.698): (left) exterior view and (right) interior view (Sources: left image: Orlando
Sentinel, right image: Getty Images)
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Reports are also documenting damage to the Burmah Oil Terminal on Grand Bahama Island.
Pre-event imagery suggests that all the tanks on this site were capped with domed tops thatappear to be missing from several of the tanks (Fig. 5.11). The operator has mobilized response
teams to conduct an assessment on 8 September, as well as a vessel with equipment to start
repairs -- expected to arrive on 10 September (UN OCHA, 2019b).

Figure 5.11. Burmah Oil Terminal at South Riding Point on the east side of Grand Bahama
Island [26.626, -78.232] before Hurricane Dorian (left) and after (right) (Source of after image:
New York Times, Source of before image: Google Maps)

5.2 Infrastructure Damage: United States
Damage to infrastructure in the southeastern United States was minimal. Outside of damage topiers and docks in the Carolinas, the most noteworthy infrastructure impact was NC-12, the mainroad linking North Carolina’s barrier islands to the mainland, which was damaged by flood waters.
The damage to NC-12 prevented rescue crews from accessing boat docks near Ocracoke Island,
where over 1,000 people were stranded, which made rescue efforts more difficult (Fig. 5.12).

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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance68Figure 5.12. Geotechnical failure of portion of NC-12 along North Carolina barrier islands.
(Source: NCDOT)

6.0 Observed Geotechnical Failures
Given the level of destruction to the built environment and the considerable debris fields in the
Bahamas, geotechnical failures are largely obscured or underreported at this time. Undoubtedly
the coastlines of the Bahamian islands were modified by Hurricane Dorian and evidence oferosion, scour and other geotechnical failures is expected. These will affect not only buildings,
but also transportation infrastructure (similar to the effects observed in Fig. 5.12) and even otherlifelines like water supply.

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7.0 Current Conditions and Access
There are no major access issues noted for the US with the exception of the situation on theisland of Ocracoke (see Sec. 5.2). The islands in the Bahamas have a number of constraints on
on-land transport, e.g., no vehicles, and access, even under normal operating conditions. The
following subsections report any unique constraints known in these locales, such as restrictedvehicular traffic or access by ferry, as well as early reports of further restrictions/loss of accessdue to Hurricane Dorian. The level of destruction and priority for rescue, recovery andhumanitarian assistance will all take priority for the foreseeable future, so access forreconnaissance missions in support of research will be substantially delayed. Direct impacts to anumber of airports in the region will make access to the most affected islands challenging forsome time21.

7.1 Abaco Islands, Bahamas
7.1.1 Great Abaco Island
●

●
●
●

Leonard M. Thompson International Airport (formerly named Marsh Harbour
International Airport) serving Marsh Harbour was discussed in Section 5.1.1. Amateur
video suggests that the facilities of multiple air carriers in this airport have been destroyed,
and the airport has experienced heavy flooding. It was officially listed as closed from 31
August 19:00 UTC until 3 September 09:49 UTC 2019 (Source: NOTAM). It is reported asof 5 September that this airport is open to private planes. NEMA permits are required toland here.
Sandy Point Airport (with a single runway) is open and was unaffected by the storm andis receiving aircraft. NEMA permits are required to land here.
Treasure Cay Airport (single runway and one terminal building) is open but only to rescue
and recovery helicopters. NEMA permits are required to land here.
Marsh Harbour serves as the main entry point for access to Abaco; it appears to be
accepting ships again. NEMA is currently developing other points of access.

7.1.2 Elbow Cay●●

Ferries are usually used to connect Marsh Harbour to Hope Town at the northern end of
Elbow Cay or the mid-island harbor of White Sound; ability to access either of theselocations is unknown.
The island has restricted vehicular traffic in its normal operations.

7.1.3 Grand Cay Island●

Normally accessible by boat; no information regarding access at this time.

21 Airport status can be monitored at https://share.geckoboard.com/dashboards/CULY2F454IQUNWPXPVRR: Hurricane Dorian
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7.1.4 Green Turtle Cay●

There is no airport on Green Turtle Cay, so it can only be reached via a ferry or boat.

7.1.5 Moore’s Island●

Normally accessible by boat; no information regarding access at this time.

7.2 Grand Bahama Island●

Grand Bahama International Airport was discussed in Section 5.1.2 and was reported
as CLOSED from 30 August 02:00 UTC until 3 September 10:00 UTC 2019 (Source:
NOTAM).

7.3 Other Bahamian Islands●

Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau was CLOSED from 1 September 10:00
PM local time until 2 September 07:00 AM local time (Source: ICAO).

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8.0 Recommended Response Strategy
Based on the information gathered by this Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (PVRR),StEER offers the following recommendations for future study. While in no way diminishing theopportunities to learn from Hurricane Dorian’s impacts in the United States, given the absence of
substantive structural damage in the Carolinas, StEER will confine its recommendations forfurther study to the Bahamas.
THEME 1: Performance of engineered construction during long-exposure to significant
storm surge and/or strong hurricane force winds
Document the mixed performance of different classes of construction on Great Abaco Island andGrand Bahama Island, e.g., Figure 8.1, with specific emphasis on successes, i.e., properties withlittle to no damage in this event despite major structural damage to the majority of adjacent
properties. Classes worthy of investigation include, but should not be limited to:a. Residential (single and multi-family)b. Commercial (including metal building systems used in airports, marinas andindustrial zones)c. Resorts and hotels
d. Critical facilities including hospitals, airports and shelters
Surveys should ideally move along identified transects to distinguish the wind-resistance ofbuildings inland of the inundation zone. When possible, surveys should identify comparative casestudies between the islands to discern the differences in performance observed in Great Abaco
Island vs. Grand Bahama Island, which may be in part attributed to characteristics of the windfield and/or duration of exposure as the storm stalled.
THEME 2: Verify hazard characteristics using mixture of aerial and ground-based
observations, geospatial data analysis and computational simulation
As Dorian’s strongest winds and storm surge were in the Bahamas, measurements/observations
and hindcasts will not be undertaken by US federal agencies. Thus, the ability to relate
damage/performance observed under Theme 1 to realistic hazard intensities will require attention
from the research and international community (non-governmental and governmental actors).
Coastal surveys should be undertaken to document forensic evidence suggestive of storm surge
depth, extent and velocity, as well as the presence of breaking waves, to aid in the interpretationof damage observations. Bathymetric and topographic factors, as well as storm characteristics,
responsible for the large storm surges witnessed in Dorian should be identified. When possible,
similar forensic evidence should be gathered (e.g., overturned rigid bodies, hinged poles,
snapped/stripped trees) to generate spot evidence of surface wind speeds. Such fieldobservations should be used to develop hindcasts of the wind field and storm surge for this eventon Great Abaco Island and Grand Bahama Island (or possibly refine preliminary hindcasts as they
become available).

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Figure 8.1. Aerial photo of the damage from Dorian on Great Abaco Island demonstrating themixed performance of buildings across occupancy classes. (Source: CNN)
THEME 3: Leverage virtual reconnaissance technologies for assessment of damage in theearly weeks of recovery
As the humanitarian response and recovery efforts in the Bahamas will be unfolding for several
weeks, key forensic data will be disturbed or removed by the time teams of reconnaissanceresearchers physically reach the islands. If possible, Bahamian engineers and researchers should
be engaged to make observations at noteworthy sites as soon as it is safely possible. In theinterim, researchers outside the Bahamas are encouraged to engage aerial and satellite imagery
to begin initial assessments of damage, particularly to roofs, as well as debris fields, to preserve
as much of the original forensic evidence as possible. Resources useful in such endeavors are
already being assembled by StEER as well as groups like Zooniverse, which is crowdsourcing
using satellite imagery to create heat maps of building damage and underwater hazards22, andthe Humanitarian OSM Team, which has set up a platform for collaborative mapping of Abaco23.
This will further allow any time spent on the ground to be better directed to the assessments thatcan only be made through in-situ, detailed, on-site inspection.

22 https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/mrniaboc/planetary-response-network-hurricane-dorian/classify
23 https://tasks.hotosm.org/contribute?difficulty=ALL&text=Dorian

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance73

THEME 4: Geotechnical failures and impacts to coastlines
As discussed in Section 6, given the strong sizeable storm surge in this event and the longduration exposure generating significant wave action, it is anticipated that geotechnical failuresand coastal impacts have not been documented/reported due to the present focus on damage tothe built environment. Dorian undoubtedly has had significant impact on the coastlines, riverine
systems, and ecology of the affected islands that should be documented given their important
ramifications for recovery as well as long-term recovery.
In addition to the themes above, StEER also recognizes the importance of investigating the topics
below, which fall outside the purview of natural hazards engineering research but are nonethelesscritical opportunities to learn from this disaster to inform research, policy and practice in the future.
TOPIC 1: Addressing informal settlements in land use planning and development
Informal settlements are a historical legacy in Latin American and the Caribbean and thus are an
inescapable reality in these regions. It well understood that the social vulnerability of these
populations results in construction with equally high degrees of structural vulnerability, situatedoften on undesirable land that tragically has the highest degrees of hazard exposure. Seeing thisdisproportionate level of risk may prompt the dismissal of the outcomes in The Mudd and Pigeon
Peas as inevitable; however, the tragic lesson of these informal settlements provides anopportunity to re-examine the structural barriers facing disaster risk reduction among populations
with undocumented status and without land rights. The settlements lost in Dorian were built overdecades and the consequences of where survivors will settle and whether these low-lying plotsof land are ever developed again will reach far beyond the memories of persons directly affectedby this disaster. The survivors of The Mudd and Pigeon Peas, as well as internally displaced
persons (IDPs) who now lack shelter as a consequence of Dorian, will need to be managed with
innovative approaches to resettlement, regulation, and integration of informal settlements toprevent future tragedies and possibly head off the formation of high-vulnerability IDP zones in theimmediate term.
TOPIC 2: Impacts of slow-progression hurricanes on storm preparedness and evacuation
Hurricane Dorian’s slow progression and even stall in the Bahamas not only intensified theexposure to winds and storm surge, but also made the storm notoriously difficult to predict. With
communities in multiple states undertaking preparations and evacuations for a week or more
before the storm arrived, it is important to examine the impact of Dorian “fatigue” on preparations
and compliance with evacuation orders. With recent studies suggesting that slow forward speeds
are becoming increasingly common (Hall and Kossin, 2019), emergency managers will need tocontend with both the realities of rapidly intensifying storms in warm Gulf waters (like Hurricanes
Harvey and Michael), as well as disruptions in the atmospheric circulation patterns that result in
slow-moving storms like Dorian (and even the stalling of hurricanes post-landfall, such as Harvey
over Houston). This dichotomy in storm characteristics makes the phasing and timing of warnings
and evacuation orders increasingly difficult. Communities will similarly have to prepare for greater
periods of self-sufficiency, particularly when sheltering in place, given the increasing likelihood ofstalled storms.

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance74

TOPIC 3: Reframing disaster risk for small island nations
Hurricane Dorian is yet another powerful illustration of the amplified effect hurricanes of this size
and intensity can have on small island nations. As was the case with Irma and Maria’s impacts
on the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the projected losses in Hurricane Dorian are a sizeable
percentage of the annual GDP of the Bahamas and likely more when infrastructure losses are
considered. This has serious implications for the recovery timeline, particularly considering theimpacts to the tourism industry vital to this nation’s economy. Thus the levels of acceptable riskin these settings requires careful consideration. As noted by Prevatt et al. (2010), “Hurricane risk
models for [the Caribbean must consider] the consequences of damage in these small islands
where the economic cost of hurricane disasters can easily exceed the annual GDP of an island’s
economy.” The relative economic impact of these events (particularly considering the extent ofuninsured losses), the infeasibility of evacuations in small islands nations without verticalevacuation options, and the logistical challenges of response and recovery across archipelagos
highlighted by Dorian reiterates the continued need to re-examine disaster risk reduction andemergency management strategies in the context of policy and practice for small island nations.

Given the magnitude of Hurricane Dorian and the impacts documented in this PVRR, andrecommendations for further study articulated under the themes itemized above, StEER
anticipates deploying a Field Assessment Structural Team (FAST) to the Bahamas toconduct reconnaissance on the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands. The FAST will include
Level 3 and 4 StEER members with expertise in characterizing wind and coastal hazards andtheir impact on the built environment, as well as 1-2 Level 2 members serving as FAST Trainees
for this event. The exact timing of this mission remains dependent on the progress of response
and recovery activities in the affected areas and will not deploy until immediate humanitarianneeds are met. StEER will particularly focus on Themes 1 and 2 outlined above. In the interim,
StEER will continue to examine how to mobilize its membership in support of Theme 3 tomaximize the potential to remotely learn from imagery preserving key forensic information likely
to be disturbed by the time the FAST arrives on the islands. StEER is coordinating with points ofcontact in the Bahamas as well as other organizations responding to this event to further develop
its FAST strategy and will encourage other extreme events organizations under Converge to
examine the remaining themes and topics outlined in this section.

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance75Appendix A. Timeline of Bahamas Response
Source: Private Twitter accounts of Responsible Party.
Key Abbreviations:● In Period column: B = Before, D = During, A = After Hurricane Dorian’s landfall● NEMA: National Emergency Management Agency of the Bahamas● PMOB: Prime Minister of Bahamas
Responsible
Party

Position

ActionPeriodJames Albury
MP

Member of
Parliament for
Abaco

Announced Abaco Shelter⚫

8/29/2019 at
3:46 PMJames Albury
MP

Member of
Parliament for
Abaco

Noticed all Travel and Flight aresuspended on Saturday August31⚫

8/29/2019 at
9:55 PMDr. Hubert
Minnnis

PMOB

Announced the emergency
evacuation in Abaco and Grand⚫

8/30/2019 at
5:13 PM

Dr.Hubert
Minnnis

PMOB

Said "now Dorian is dangerous
and reached Category 4 .beready and get all supplies"⚫

8/30/2019 at
10:19 PM

NEMA

Government

Announced all shelters in Abaco⚫

8/31/19 at
1:49 PM

Dr.Hubert
MinnnisPMOB

He traveled to Abaco check in on
the progress of evacuation⚫

8/31/19 at
2:09 PM

Dr.Hubert
Minnnis

PMOB

Announced the effect of
hurricane started on Grand
Bahama and give Warning⚫

9/1/19 at 4:18
AM

Dr.Hubert
Minnnis

PMOB

Announced hurricane is Category
5 and give Warning, Also meetingNEMA⚫

9/1/19 at
10:30
AM

NEMA
BahamasGovernment

Distributed survey link online andlet them to do it and to makesure where they are located andsafe or not⚫

9/2/19 at 1:38
AM

ZNS Bahamas

Broadcasting
Corporation of
the Bahamas

Ministry of health resumed all
hospital in New Providence andrescheduled all shifts⚫

9/2/19 at 1:22
PM

B

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through ReconnaissanceD

Date & Time
A76

Responsible
Party

Position

ActionPeriodDr.Hubert
Minnnis

PMOB

Announced to rescue andrecovery for Grand Bahama⚫

9/2/19 at 9:39
AM

Dr.Hubert
MinnnisPMOB

Confirmed 5 deaths in Abaco andprovide a relief and assistance forthe rest⚫

9/2/19 at 8:53
PM

U.S Embassy
NassauEmbassy

Sent helicopters (U.S Coast
Guard) to evacuate injured from
Abaco and flying back to Nassau⚫

9/2/19 at
11:52
PM

IOM-UN
Migration

Organization

Began assessing Damage fromhurricane in 13,000 houses
Bahamas⚫

9/3/19 at 7:24
AM

ZNS Bahamas

Broadcasting
Corporation of
the Bahamas

Official announced from
University of the Bahamas to beclosed until further details⚫

9/3/19 at 9:02
AM

Dr.Hubert
MinnnisPMOB

Continuing to monitor and posted
an Emergency numbers and U.S
Coast Guard started rescue⚫

9/3/19 at
11:34 AM

Minister ofSocial Affairs

Minister

Seeking Relief initiative items for
Abaco and Grand Bahama
people⚫

9/3/19 at 5:27
PM

Royal Caribbean

CruiseDonated $1 million to Doriandisaster relief⚫

9/3/19 at 7:09
PM

NEMA Bahamas

Government⚫

9/3/19 at 7:55
PM

B

D

Date & TimeA

Posted a donation information to
donate to Bahamas
World HealthOrganization(PAHO/WHO)

Organization

Working with health authorities in
the Bahamas⚫

9/3/19 at 8:34
PM

ZNS Bahamas

Broadcasting
Corporation of
the Bahamas

Prime Minister Confirmed 3
deaths in Abaco⚫

9/3/19 at 8:40
PM

Dr.Hubert
MinnnisPMOB

Do an initial air reconnaissanceof Abaco and asked for food,water, shelter for Abaco's people⚫

9/3/2019 at
11:34 PM

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance77Responsible
Party

Position

ActionPeriodMinistry of
Defense of UK

Ministry

Sent Royal Navy to assess
damage and help government of
Bahamas⚫

9/4/19 at 9:35
AM

Justin Trudeau

Prime Ministerof Canada

Initial donated $2 million to
Dorian disaster relief⚫

9/4/19 at
12:47 PMZNS Bahamas

Broadcasting
Corporation of
the Bahamas

Government Announced all
Schools with the exception of
Abaco and Grand Bahama, willrevert back to normal on 9/9⚫

9/4/19 at 1:03
PM

Saint Lucia

Government

Pledged support to the recovery
efforts, cash donation can bemade it⚫

9/4/19 at 2:27
PM

Foreign
office(UK)Ministry

Delivered 1200 cases ofwater,1300 food ration packs and500 shelter kit⚫

9/4/19 at 3:17
PM

ZNS Bahamas

Broadcasting
Corporation of
the Bahamas

The Ambassador of the People's
Republic of China and behalf his
country donated $20,000 in
goods

⚫

9/4/19 at
3:52PM

Carnival

CruiseDonated $2 million to Doriandisaster relief⚫

9/4/19 at 6:02
PM

The United
Nation Central(CERF)

Organization

Donated $1 million to Doriandisaster relief⚫

9/4/19 at
7:58PM

Antonio
Guterres

Secretary –General of theUnited Nation

Continue to support relief andrecovery efforts⚫

9/4/19 at 8:10
PM

U.S Coast
Guard

U.S
Government
support teamResponse operations areunderway in support of Bahamas⚫

9/4/19 at 9:10
PM

Dr.Hubert
MinnnisPMOB

United States President andPrime Minister of Canada
expressed their support andpledged their assistance⚫

9/5/2019 at
12:05 AM

B

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through ReconnaissanceD

Date & Time
A

78

Responsible
Party

Position

ActionPeriodDisneyCruiseDonated $1 million to Doriandisaster relief⚫

9/5/2019 at
2:59 AMLPIA Nassau
Airport

AirportOpen normally⚫

9/5/19 at 6:28
AM

U.S Coast
Guard

U.S
Government
support teamRescued 135 people and 6 pets⚫

9/5/2019 at
9:00 AM

Caribbean
Community(CARICOM)

Organization

Announced that “Caribbean is infull solidarity with theGovernment and people of
Bahamas⚫

9/5/19 at 9:29
AM

U.S Embassy
NassauEmbassy

Supplies arrived From USAID tohelp 31,500 people⚫

9/5/2019 at
9:34 AMZNS Bahamas

Broadcasting
Corporation of
the Bahamas

Commonwealth Bank Managing
Director Raymond Winder madedonation to RED Cross⚫

9/5/2019 at
11:40 AM

Kevin
McAleenan

Homeland
Security
ActingSecretary

Confirmed the request of thePrime Minister to the President of
U.S to support GOV. of the
Bahamas.

⚫

9/5/2019 at
1:46 PM

NassauGuardian

Newspaper

Andrew Holness

Prime Ministerof Jamaica

Sent Jamaica Defense Forcesoldiers to help⚫

9/5/19 at 6:00
PM

UNICEF Latin
America

Organization

Sent team to provide
humanitarian aid to affectedchildren and families⚫

9/5/19 at 6:45
PM

Dr.Keith Rowley

Prime Ministerof Trinidad
and Tobago

Announced the CARICOM
support for Bahamas which is$500,000, 100 people from the
Defense Force for maintenanceand 7 technical for electrical
power

⚫

9/5/19 at 6:59
PM

B

D

Date & TimeA⚫

Health Minister Dr.Duane Sands
confirmed 23 deaths

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance

9/5/2019 at
2:28 PM79

Responsible
Party

Position

ActionPeriodDr.Hubert
Minnnis

PMOB

Welcomed a Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) and theirsupport and assistance⚫

9/5/2019 at
11:14 PMU.S Coast
Guard

U.S
Government
support teamRescued 205 people⚫

9/6/2019 at
9:00 AM

Dr.Hubert
MinnnisPMOB

Traveled to Abaco with CARIOM
and CDEMA officials team toassess damage and give
supplies, also Free air
evacuations on Bahamasair from
Abaco who want to leave theislands⚫

9/6/19 at
10:08 AM

Foreign
office(UK)Ministry

Allocating 1.5 million pounds tohelp Bahamas people⚫

9/6/19 at
12:44 PMU.S Coast
Guard

U.S
Government
support teamRescued 290 people⚫

9/7/2019 at
9:00 AMUSAID/OFDA
U.S. Foreign
DisasterAssistanceU.S
Government
support team

USAID disaster team members,including VATF1 are search andrescue now in Abaco⚫

9/7/2019 at
12:26 PMU.S Coast
Guard

U.S
Government
support teamRescued 308 people⚫

9/8/2019 at
9:00 AMNEMA Bahamas

Government⚫

9/8/19 at 5:08
PM⚫

9/9/19 at 5:43
PM

B

D

Date & TimeA

Posted to sign up information for
who is interested in helping either
individually or organization
Dr.Hubert
Minnnis

PMOB

Visited all shelters in New
Providence to check theevacuees From Abaco andGrand Bahama and told themthat they are starting rebuilding
their home

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance80

Appendix B: Preliminary rainfall totals in United States
Source: NCEP (2019) for states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina
State

Location

Total Rainfall in cm (in)FloridaPalm Coast 4.5 SSW

14.42 (5.68)*

FloridaDeland 0.6 SSE

11.53 (4.54)*

FloridaLake Mary

9.96 (3.92)*

FloridaFlagler Beach 2.3 SSE

9.42 (3.71)*

FloridaSt. Augustine Airport

6.81 (2.68)*

FloridaCape Canaveral

6.75 (2.66)*

FloridaDaytona Beach Intl Arpt

6.55 (2.58)*

FloridaOrlando/Sanford Arpt

6.42 (2.53)*

FloridaMelbourne

5.87 (2.31)*

Georgia

Savannah 9.6 E

6.04 (2.38)*

Georgia

Jekyll Island 0.6 E

4.67 (1.84)*

South Carolina

McClellanville 7 NE

27.03 (10.64)

South Carolina

Cainhoy 4 SSE

25.00 (9.84)

South Carolina

Myrtle Beach Intl Arpt

22.53 (8.87)

South Carolina

Socastee 3.3 SW

19.10 (7.52)

South Carolina

Georgetown County Arpt

15.72 (6.19)

South Carolina

Charleston Intl Arpt

14.07 (5.54)

North Carolina

Castle Hayne

26.03 (10.25)

North Carolina

Wilmington INtl Arpt

25.20 (9.92)

North Carolina

Duplin County Arpt

16.02 (6.31)

North Carolina

Sampson County Arpt

15.31 (6.03)

North Carolina

Soules Swamp

13.59 (5.35)

North Carolina

Sunset Beach

12.95 (5.10)

North Carolina

Calabash 1.2 NNW

12.83 (5.05)*event has ended
PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance81Appendix C: 2010 Census Building and Housing Stock (Bahamas)
Source: Dept. of Statistics (2017a)

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance82

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance83Appendix D: Topographic Map of Abaco Islands

MAP KEY
Light Blue:0 ft(0.0 m)Green:
0-15 ft(0.0-4.6 m)
Yellow:
15-30 ft
(4.6-9.1 m)
Red:
30-45 ft
(9.1-13.7 m)
Violet:45-60 ft
(13.7-18.3 m)
Blue:
60-75 ft
(18.3-22.9 m)
White:
75+ ft(22.9+ m)

Topographic map of the Abaco Islands, Bahamas shaded at 15 foot (4.572 meter) contour
intervals. Map created with SRTM3 digital elevation data
(http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/). Resolution is ~90 meters. By Lithium6ion Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18458689

PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
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Building Resilience through Reconnaissance85

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PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
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PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance87Miles, F. (2019) “Hurricane Dorian strikes Bahamas: Homes severely damaged, cars
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4449_wind_history.png
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PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance88

NCEP (2019) "Storm Summary Message." National Centers for Environmental Prediction: The
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PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance89Ward, J. and Faiola, A. (2019b) “Dorian snapping trees, tearing off roofs in Bahamas” SF Gate,
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PVRR: Hurricane Dorian
PRJ-2549 | Released: September 10, 2019
Building Resilience through Reconnaissance90