NASSAU, Bahamas - Hurricane Frances battered the main tourist hub in the Bahamas on Friday, unleashing deadly winds that shattered windows in skyscrapers, toppled trees and set off scattered looting. One man was electrocuted in the storm.
Streets were almost deserted in Nassau, the capital on New Providence Island, which is home to more than two-thirds of the island nation's 300,000 people. Many boarded up their homes and hunkered down inside to ride out the expansive storm that was headed toward Florida.
Fallen trees, debris and downed satellite dishes littered roads and power was knocked out in many parts of the city. At least three boats were destroyed. There were reports of looting, police said, including one man who broke into a Texaco gas station and another who was arrested for stealing appliances.
The hurricane's maximum sustained winds had dropped from 145 mph to 115 mph, prompting forecasters to downgrade it to a Category 3.
Kenrad Delaney, 18, was electrocuted in Nassau on Friday morning while filling a generator with diesel, police said. The family heard a scream and found him lying on the floor. He died after being taken to the hospital, police said.
The U.S. Embassy in Nassau evacuated about 200 non-emergency employees and their families as Frances neared.
Gusts of 84 mph whipped through the city streets and downpours already were pelting the second commercial center of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island, where emergency administrator Alexander E. Williams said about 600 people had checked in to shelters.
The storm was forecast to make a direct hit on Freeport later Friday or early today. Street signs were already blowing off poles and palms were bending in the strong gusts. Officials urged all residents to stay inside.
Unlike Nassau, Freeport has fewer skyscrapers and its buildings are better built. Officials, however, warned of potential damage to wooden homes and coastal areas.
Police drove through low-lying neighborhoods urging people to evacuate.
Gordon King said he planned to stay in his boarded-up home in Freeport, even though it was only about 5 feet above sea level.
"I hope it's strong. It's been through a couple of hurricanes," said the 36-year-old cook. "If things get bad, I'll probably go inland."
About 20 evacuees - half of them children - dozed on pews in the Central Zion Baptist Church outside Freeport.
"I'm trying to save myself. I'm scared," said Elianise Jean, a 40-year-old Haitian immigrant who came with her six children. She brought blankets but no food.
Meanwhile, tourists at the 2,300-room Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, outside of Nassau, were told to leave their rooms and stay in a conference room. No structural damage had been reported, but the hotel's landscape suffered significant damage.
"I came for a week of sunshine and beaches in the Bahamas and can't believe this is happening," said Jo Pain, 37, of London. "It's frightening. The rain is pelting down, the winds are incredible and it's so loud out there."
