In Freeport, Dave Mackey recorded video showing water and floating debris surging around his house as the wind shrieked outside.

"Our house is 15 feet up, and right now where that water is is about 8 feet. So we're pretty concerned right now because we're not at high tide," said Mackey, who shared the video with The Associated Press. "Our garage door has already come off. ... Once we come out of it with our lives, we're happy."

On Sunday, Dorian churned over Abaco Island with battering winds and surf and heavy flooding.

Parliament member Darren Henfield described the damage as "catastrophic" and said officials did not have information on what happened on nearby cays. "We are in search-and-recovery mode. ... Continue to pray for us."

A spokesman for Bahamas Power and Light told ZNS that there was a blackout in New Providence, the archipelago's most populous island. He said the company's office in Abaco island was flattened.

"The reports out of Abaco as everyone knows," spokesman Quincy Parker said, pausing for a deep sigh, "were not good."

Most people went to shelters as the storm neared. Tourist hotels shut down, and residents boarded up their homes. Many people were expected to be left homeless.

On Sunday, Dorian's maximum sustained winds reached 185 mph (297 kph), with gusts up to 220 mph (354 kph), tying the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to make landfall. That equaled the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, before storms were named. The only recorded storm that was more powerful was Hurricane Allen in 1980, with 190 mph (305 kph) winds, though it did not make landfall at that strength.

The Bahamas archipelago is no stranger to hurricanes. Homes are required to have metal reinforcements for roof beams to withstand winds into the upper limits of a Category 4 hurricane, and compliance is generally tight for those who can afford it. Risks are higher in poorer neighborhoods that have wooden homes in low-lying areas.

Dorian was likely to begin pulling away from the Bahamas early Tuesday and curving to the northeast parallel to the southeastern coast of the US. The system is expected to spin 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 kilometers) off Florida, with hurricane-force wind speeds extending about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the west.