Tyler Perry Vows To Help Rebuild Dorian-Battered Bahamas

ATLANTA — Entertainment magnate Tyler Perry is vowing to help rebuild the Bahamas, which bore Hurricane Dorian's deadly brunt over the last several days. Dorian began lashing the Florida coast with winds Tuesday, leaving catastrophic damage as it slowly crawled toward the U.S. Eastern Seaboard downgraded to a Hurricane 2 storm but still packing winds in excess of 100 MPH.

The storm has killed at least five people in the Bahamas and caused widespread destruction on the islands as it slowly but forcefully churned toward the Southeast United States, where mandatory evacuations were ordered in several areas in advance of one of the Atlantic's most powerful storms on record.

Forecasters said the hurricane would move "dangerously close" to the Florida coast Tuesday and continuing through Wednesday evening. Georgia and South Carolina coasts are next in its current path, beginning late on Wednesday. By the end of the week, Dorian is expected to be shadowing the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia.

"To all the incredible people of the Bahamas who have welcomed me and called me an adoptive son, I want you to know that I am watching closely, and as soon as I can, I will be there to do whatever I can to help you rebuild stronger and better," Perry said in a Facebook post. "You’re not only in my heart and my prayers, you’re in my blood. God bless you. Stay Bahamas strong. The sun will shine again."

Just last week, Perry posted a moving social media message, recalling his early days in Atlanta when he was homeless and broke. "I came here with nothing, lived off Sylvan Road, ended up homeless and starving, but I was always praying and believing," he wrote. "I was always keeping the faith, knowing that if I worked hard, did my absolute best, kept my integrity, honored every blessing, and remained grateful through it all that everything would work out."

Today, Perry's film and television production company is poised to become one of the world's largest.

Videos showed floodwaters just below battered rooftops in the Abaco Islands, in the northern Bahamas, and emergency responders said thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed. The storm all but stalled over Grand Bahama, where heavy flooding was also forecast.

"This is perhaps the worst hurricane to have ever struck the Bahamas," Michael Scott, the chairman of the government-owned Grand Lucayan Resort and Casino on Grand Bahama Island, told The New York Times. The resort was was operating as a shelter because many designated shelters were damaged.

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis confirmed the five deaths.