Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis says at least five people have died in the Abaco Islands, where Hurricane Dorian made landfall Sunday as "the strongest hurricane in modern records" to hit the archipelago.

The southern United States and the Bahamas are bracing for Hurricane Dorian as it slowly churns across the Atlantic and is expected to become a dangerous, Category 4 storm as it makes landfall in the days ahead.

Hurricane Dorian is "expected to become a major hurricane on Friday," according to the National Hurricane Center.