Community Affairs Consultants

Hurricane Dorian - a massive and unpredictable tropical weather system, has been battering the Caribbean isles of the Bahamas for more than 12-hours and it is inflicting "catastrophic" and "unprecedented" damage as a category 5 storm - the highest classification of hurricanes, in the western hemisphere. Winds were measured upward of 185-miles-per-hour causing major flooding and prompting a storm surge of over five-feet in many places.

As we send our thoughts and prayers to the people of the Bahamas, a full assessment of damage remains unavailable because of the continuous pounding from the tropical system and its almost stationary nature.  

Yet, the system will move away from the Bahamas, sooner, rather than later. Dorian has now been slightly downgraded to a category 4 Hurricane. It will set its path toward the United States (US) East Coast, anywhere from Florida to Virginia, but no exact, if any landfall point, has been determined because of the unpredictable nature of the storm. 

From Florida to the Carolinas, preparations are in full swing to survive Hurricane Dorian. Not only is the wind component of the storm very dangerous, but also its rainfall and tidal surge threaten widespread flooding even if the system does not come on shore.

Hurricane Dorian is an example of nature's wrath that serves to humble humankind of the power of the natural environment that is beyond humanity's control. Yet, such systems should act as reminders of the ramifications that are possible from a deteriorating environment characterized by Climate Change that provides more ideal conditions to favor the development of massive storms and other events due to man-made actions.

Stay safe everybody and a speedy recovery to all victims. May God have mercy upon you all.