By PAVEL BAILEY 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS across The Bahamas have hunkered down as Tropical Storm Imelda lashed islands with heavy rain and moderate winds, forcing flight cancellations, school closures and the shutdown of government offices.

Officials warned of flash flooding, storm surges and dangerous surf as the system continued its slow northern track.

The storm, about 100 miles west-southwest of the central Bahamas, strengthened into a tropical storm at 2pm on Sunday and was expected to reach hurricane strength by late today or tomorrow, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Imelda, formerly Tropical Depression 9, drenched Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Island and San Salvador on Saturday, prompting Bahamasair to suspend flights until the all clear. By Sunday evening, tropical storm conditions spread into the northwest Bahamas. Maximum winds reached 40mph, with forecasters warning of six to twelve inches of rain through Tuesday and surges of up to three feet in coastal areas.

The Disaster Risk Management Authority activated shelters nationwide, including Nassau Village Community Centre and New Bethlehem Baptist Church on New Providence; South Andros Multipurpose Centre; schools and gyms across Grand Bahama; and Central Abaco Primary.

Minister of State for Disaster Risk Management Leon Lundy urged residents to stay off the roads and remain indoors.

Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin announced that schools across Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros, Berry Islands, New Providence, Eleuthera, Exuma and San Salvador would close on Monday, with reopening dependent on the all clear. The University of The Bahamas also suspended in-person operations, shifting to virtual learning.

Acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper ordered all government offices in affected islands to remain closed, except for essential workers. He urged the public to avoid “unnecessary risks,” confirming reports of flooding in low-lying communities. “The relevant agencies, including police and defence force, are fully mobilised to respond to an emergency,” he said. Ports and airports will stay closed until further notice, with the Nassau Airport Development Company confirming operations at Lynden Pindling International Airport remain suspended.

Western New Providence, including Adelaide, Coral Harbour, Coral Lakes and Albany, experienced outages Sunday afternoon. Bahamas Power and Light attributed the disruption to a transformer explosion near a defence force base, dispatching crews to restore service.

Residents on the islands already hit by the storm reported heavy downpours, service disruptions and precautionary cancellations, but many expressed relief that conditions were not as severe as feared.

On Crooked Island, Timothy Thompson expressed gratitude that conditions eased by Sunday afternoon despite heavy rain overnight.

In Andros, Pastor Leslie Duncombe said his community saw only rainfall but endured a water outage from late Saturday into early Sunday. He cancelled church services in line with advisories.

On Eleuthera, Pastor Orlando Thompson said power was knocked out for an hour on Sunday morning, though winds remained relatively light. “While we experienced torrential downpour, there were no strong winds,” he said, adding that he also called off Sunday service as a precaution.