--- description: Viral videos and photos show missing ocean water on the shores of Long Island, Bahamas after Hurricane Irma passed through the area. title: Hurricane Irma Is So Powerful it Sucked Ocean Water Away in the Bahamas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafc13c28279be301/6988dd21bc6cfc4de23e3024/gettyimages-8441889801.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bahamas](/tag/bahamas/) ## Bahamas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hurricane Irma Is So Powerful it Sucked Ocean Water Away in the Bahamas by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2017 2:05 PM CUT  In this NOAA handout image, NOAA's GOES satellite shows Hurricane Irma passing the eastern end of Cuba at about 8:00 am EST on September 8, 2017\. Hurricane Irma barreled through the Turks and Caicos Islands as a category 4 storm en route to a destructive encounter with Florida this weekend. In this NOAA handout image, NOAA's GOES satellite shows Hurricane Irma passing the eastern end of Cuba at about 8:00 am EST on September 8, 2017\. Hurricane Irma barreled through the Turks and Caicos Islands as a category 4 storm en route to a destructive encounter with Florida this weekend.Photograph by NOAA GOES Project—Getty by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 10, 2017 2:05 PM CUT As [Hurricane Irma](http://time.com/4934755/this-is-where-hurricane-irma-is-now/ "undefined") ripped through the Caribbean and the Bahamas this week, it caused immense [damage](http://time.com/4931304/hurricane-irma-damage-pictures/ "undefined") and destruction to homes, businesses and infrastructure on the islands. It also sucked away ocean water from the shoreline at some beaches in the [Bahamas](http://time.com/4930929/hurricane-irma-puerto-rico-dominican-republic-haiti/ "undefined"). Over the weekend, several Twitter users posted videos and photos of what was left after the water seemingly disappeared during Hurricane Irma. Conch shells sat on damp, rocky sand and docks stood with no water beneath them. In the videos, no ocean water can be seen — even past the horizon. “I am in disbelief right now…This is Long Island, Bahamas and the ocean water is missing!!!” Twitter user @Kaydi\_K, who posted the video, wrote. The eerie phenomenon came as a result of the powerful hurricane. The center of the storm has low pressure that draws water upward, according to the [Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/09/09/hurricane-irma-is-literally-sucking-the-water-away-from-shorelines/?utm%5Fterm=.f63041334899 "undefined"). “Low pressure is basically a sucking mechanism — it sucks the air into it, and when it’s really low, it can change the shape of the surface of the ocean,” explains the _Post_‘s Angela Fritz. “As the storm draws water toward the center, it gets pulled away from the surroundings.” While some have speculated the disappearing water could indicate an incoming tsunami, that’s not the case here. Wayne Neely, a forecaster with the Bahamas Department of Meteorology, wrote [in a post on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/wayne.neely.5/posts/10154701666511571 "undefined") that this phenomenon previously occurred during a hurricane affecting Acklins Island in the Bahamas in 1936. He also warned that the water will come back soon — and residents should be cautious, since the water’s return may be powerful. “But in the Long Island and Exuma cases care must be taken in this case because the water often returns with even greater fury,” Neely wrote. Hurricane Irma passed through the Bahamas on Friday and struck other Carribean islands late last week. The Category 4 storm made landfall Sunday morning in Florida, where it is expected to move up the western coast of the state. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4935096/long-island-bahamas-irma-hurricane/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4935096/long-island-bahamas-irma-hurricane/"},"headline":"Hurricane Irma Is So Powerful it Sucked Ocean Water Away in the Bahamas","datePublished":"2017-09-10T14:05:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:21:21.736Z","description":"The photos and videos are downright eerie","url":"https://time.com/4935096/long-island-bahamas-irma-hurricane/","keywords":["Bahamas","onetime","hurricane irma"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafc13c28279be301/6988dd21bc6cfc4de23e3024/gettyimages-8441889801.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafc13c28279be301/6988dd21bc6cfc4de23e3024/gettyimages-8441889801.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Florida Prepares For Major Hit By Hurricane Irma","caption":"Florida Prepares For Major Hit By Hurricane Irma","creditText":"Photograph by NOAA GOES Project—Getty","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/bahamas/","name":"Bahamas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4935096/long-island-bahamas-irma-hurricane/","name":"Hurricane Irma Is So Powerful it Sucked Ocean Water Away in the Bahamas"}}]}] ```