Winnipeggers in Florida brace for hurricane Dorian

Winnipeggers in Florida are bracing for hurricane Dorian, which has been battering the Bahamas on Monday.

Dorian hit the Bahamas with life-threatening winds and a storm surge. The hurricane has weakened to a Category 4 storm.

The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said the storm will move “dangerously close” to the Florida east coast late Monday through Wednesday evening.

Winnipegger Jim Dutton arrived in Florida on August 24 to visit with family. He said they had to be evacuated from his daughter’s home on Merritt Island an hour’s drive from Orlando on Sunday.

“I’m glad we’re not on the island where my daughter lives because that could get hit rather hard. They only live maybe 10 minutes from the coast, not too far from the Cocoa Beach area,” he said.

“Now that we’re an hour further inland, it’s a lot better. We certainly feel more safe here than on the island. This is a massive storm and it’s very unpredictable, that’s the scary part.”

WATCH: Man wades through flooded Freeport home as Hurricane Dorian devastates Bahamas

0:45 Man wades through flooded Freeport home as Hurricane Dorian devastates Bahamas

Dutton said they’re feeling safe, but paying close attention to local media reports.

“If it does move even a little to the west, it could be devastating for this area. It could be a mega disaster is what they’re saying, this is a huge, huge storm,” he said.

Jason Merrick used to live in Winnipeg and now calls Florida home. He said people are feeling prepared.

“In terms of preparation, it involves making sure you have enough gas for your car, canned foods, making sure you take your patio furniture inside, for homes built prior to the last seven to 10 years they have storm shutters, so that involves manually putting your storm shutters up.

“Up until two days ago, there were long, long lines for gas — hours and hours. Most people seem like they’re pretty prepared for anything to happen.”

The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said in an advisory Monday morning that Dorian’s maximum sustained winds are 250 kph, which takes the extremely dangerous storm down one notch from Category 5.

A hurricane warning along Florida’s east coast has been extended northward to the Flagler-Volusia county line. A hurricane watch has been extended northward to Altamaha Sound in Georgia.

The storm’s centre was located about 50 kilometres northeast of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island and about 180 kilometres east of West Palm Beach, Florida.

The storm was expected to continue inflicting devastation on Grand Bahama Island throughout Monday.

– With files from The Associated Press