Hurricane Dorian has stalled over the Bahamas, lashing the islands with wind, rain and storm surges, and killing at least five people.

Thousands of homes were inundated by floodwater as rescue operations tried to reach stranded residents, many trapped on roofs.

Dorian, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, has been hovering over Grand Bahama Island for more than a day. It has weakened to a Category 3 hurricane but is still battering the Bahamas with winds of 120mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in an advisory issued at 2am EST (0600 GMT).

The ferocious storm’s centre was about 30 miles north-east of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island and about 100 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida. The NHC urged residents to remain in shelters as they continued to be pounded by the storm’s “eyewall”. The storm’s strongest winds are usually close to the eye.

In an earlier update, it said Dorian was “continuing to thrash” Grand Bahama and would cause “extreme destruction” into Tuesday morning.