Rescue workers searched for a missing cargo ship with 33 aboard off the Bahamas Friday as Hurricane Joaquin battered the island chain, bringing everyday life in the popular tourist destination to a drastic halt.
Contact with El Faro was lost Thursday as the “extremely dangerous” weather system began to bear down and efforts to locate the vessel by both air and sea have so far been unsuccessful, the US Coast Guard said.
“The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained,” it said in a statement.
En route from Florida to Puerto Rico, the container ship was reported to be caught in the storm near Crooked Island, which is part of the Bahamas.
It was from there that it sent a satellite notification stating the ship had lost propulsion and had a 15-degree list.
In the Bahamas, Joaquin triggered school closures, with government offices and banks following suit as authorities urged caution.
But as the storm bore down, it destroyed homes, caused flooding and left hundreds without power.
The slow-moving storm — classified as Category 4 on the five-point Saffir Simpson scale — was situated some 10 miles (15 kilometers) north of Rum Cay and about 25 miles southwest of San Salvador, the US National Hurricane Center said.
With maximum sustained winds near 130 miles per hour, it was expected to bear down across parts of the central parts of the Bahamas through Friday, the Miami-based forecasters said in their latest update on the situation.
“Extremely dangerous Joaquin moving northward,” the NHC warned.
As the weather worsened, authorities announced the closure of the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau through early Saturday, local media reported.
All schools were closed Friday with banks and private businesses following suit in the early afternoon, Tribune 242 reported.
Government employees, except those working for essential services, were told to go home at noon.
The islands most affected are Long Island, Cat Island and Rum Key, where waters rose, trees and power lines were downed and residents lost power and telephone access.
“This is a lot of water… we are in dire need,” a Rum Key resident told local radio.
Authorities urged people to take shelter until the worst was over.
“It is very imperative that residents in those islands batten down,” said Basil Dean of the Bahamas Department of Meteorology.
The local power company said it would likely be unable to begin repairs until winds subside.
The storm is expected to move away from the Bahamas on Saturday, but not before dumping up to 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain in some spots, the NHC said.
“This hurricane has been basically sitting over the South and Central Bahamas over the last two days… It is unfortunate, but that is the way that Mother Nature works,” Dean said.
According to the National Weather Center, a Category 4 storm is capable of causing “catastrophic damage,” snapping and uprooting trees, downing power lines and making affected areas “uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
– Reduced risk for US –
Along the US East Coast, residents and local officials alike were cautiously optimistic as forecast models showed Joaquin moving far offshore as it makes its way to the north over the coming days.
“The forecast models continue to indicate a track offshore of the United States east coast from the Carolinas to the mid-Atlantic states, and the threat of direct impacts from Joaquin in those areas is decreasing,” the NHC said.
Joaquin is the third hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic season, which began in June and ends in November. Peak activity usually occurs in September.
The most destructive weather pattern so far this year was Tropical Storm Erika, which killed around 30 people and caused extensive damage in August on the small Caribbean island of Dominica.