Damage totals are so far hard to come by as Hurricane Joaquin batters Bahamian islands. But, eyewitness descriptions are emerging.
As the eye passed over San Salvador Dr. Thomas Rothfus spoke with NewsChannel 5 Meteorologist Steve Weagle.
He described it as a big mess. “A lot of people on the island, roofs have been coming off houses, off of churches, big trees down, power lines down.”
He said Joaquin is much stronger than other storms he’s been through before.
Dr. Rothfus said the storm sounded like a freight train. “Inside we definitely couldn’t hear anything with the wind going. For a while there when it was trying to shift we were trying to secure a few more windows where we got people staying and… you couldn’t even talk to each other outside.”
Dr. Rothfus said information about the storm’s track has been spotty due to limited communications.
The main building used as a shelter for the island is a steel structure inside of a concrete structure. He said he’s at a research center constructed on a former U.S. Navy base and everything is block construction.
The storm is expected to batter the island at least through Friday night and into Saturday morning.