Homes across the region have been destroyed by the storm which was strong enough to fling cars, while flooding was also caught on film. 

Update (11:00 a.m. ET): Dorian is now the strongest hurricane in modern records for the Northwestern Bahamas, according to the National Hurricane Center, with sustained winds of 180 mph, up from 160. 

Hurricane Dorian has been upgraded by the National Hurricane Center to a 'catastrophic' Category Five, the highest on its five-point scale.

The storm, which has sustained winds of 160 mph, is currently heading towards the Bahamas, while the NHC has also warned of a "life-threatening storm surge and very heavy rainfall" in the Great Abaco Islands located east of southern Florida.