NASSAU (BNO NEWS) -- Major category three hurricane Irene rampaged through the Bahamas on early Thursday morning, seriously damaging dozens of homes and nearly wiping out an entire settlement.
As of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), hurricane specialists at the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the core of Irene was approaching Abaco Island in the northern Bahams with maximum sustained winds near 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, making it a category three hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity.
"Irene is still moving through the Bahamas, it is in the northwest Bahamas now, yesterday it was in the southeast," said NHC Director Bill Read. "The entire island chain has had impact from Irene. It could be crossing the Abacos and impacting Grand Bahamas this afternoon, and it would then be moving more northward."
NHC senior hurricane specialist Daniel Brown said hurricane force winds were spreading over the northwestern Bahamas on late Thursday morning. "Hurricane or tropical storm force winds are still occurring over portions of the central Bahamas, but should begin to diminish later today," he said.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) in a statement gave the first details about the extend of the damage on the islands. More details are expected later on Thursday from areas which were still experiencing hurricane and tropical storm conditions during the morning hours.
NEMA said approximately 40 houses were seriously damaged in the communities of Betsy Bay, Pirate Wells and Abraham's Bay on the eastern island of Mayaguana. On Crooked Island, a portion of the St. John's Baptist Church collapsed while Colonel Hill High School's roof was blown off.
But the most serious damage was reported on Acklins island where dministrator Stephen Wilson reported that 90 percent of Lovely Bay had been destroyed, with house roofs blown off and a number of homes completely blown away. Power lines and trees were down on roads in the area as residents fled to shelters. Similar reports of damage came from Chester's Bay.
As of early Thursday afternoon there were no reports of casualties on the Bahamas.