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(CNN) - Hurricane Dorian, the strongest storm on the entire planet this year, is leaving "catastrophic damage" as it moves through the Bahamas, where it claimed at least one life.
The monstrous category 5 storm made landfall on the east end of Grand Bahama Island on Sunday night and will continue to hit the island for most of Monday as it moves toward the southeastern coast of the United States.
LOOK: LIVE: Florida is preparing for Dorian's arrival. This is how the waves look in Jacksonville
The death of an 8-year-old boy is being reported by the Bahamas Eyewitness News and Bahamas Press.
The boy's grandmother, Ingrid McIntosh, told Eyewitness News that his grandson died on the island of Abaco. She said her 31-year-old daughter found her son's body, who believed she had drowned in flood waters. McIntosh said his granddaughter is also missing.
"I just saw my grandson about two days ago," he said. “He told me he loved me. He was returning to Abaco, turned around and said: 'Grandmother, I love you'. ”
CNN has contacted the Bahamas authorities, who have not yet confirmed these reports.
LOOK: Dorian's slow pace leaves tremendous damage in the Bahamas
The storm had winds of 165 mph (265 kilometers per hour) while it was 185 kilometers east of West Palm Beach early Monday morning. It is expected to begin moving towards the continental United States later in the day, the National Hurricane Center said. The massive storm will "dangerously approach" the east coast of Florida from Monday to Wednesday night, the center said.
But the state has already begun to feel the effects of Dorian, said CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford, and the winds will continue to rise throughout the day on Monday as it approaches.
It will be a slow arrival, as Dorian is moving at an average speed of 3 mph (4.8 kilometers per hour), approximately the pace of a person walking, said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.
The Bahamas are being the most affected now
While plaguing the islands of the Bahamas, the hurricane left "catastrophic damage," Hope Town Volunteer Fire & Rescue said on Facebook. Damage was reported on Elbow Cay, Man-o-War and Marsh Harbor on the Abaco Islands, where buildings were destroyed and many were partially submerged by flooding.
The Abaco Islands are a group of islands and barrier cays in northern Bahamas, east of southern Florida. Dorian made landfall there like a category 5 hurricane just after noon on Sunday.
The northwest of Bahamas will be soaked with up to 61 centimeters of rain, and some areas will wait for up to 76.2 centimeters of water, the hurricane center said.
While the storm was spreading over the Grand Bahama Island, the hurricane center said a "catastrophic flood" was likely.
LOOK: Dorian could be the fourth category 5 hurricane that hits the US in the last two years
"This is a life-threatening situation," said the center. “Residents on Grand Bahama Island should not leave their shelter when the eye passes, as winds will increase rapidly on the other side of the eye. Abacos residents should continue in their shelter until conditions diminish later today. ”
On Monday morning there was a hurricane warning for Grand Bahama and the Abacos Islands in northwestern Bahamas and also in Florida, from Jupiter's entrance to the Brevard and Volusia County line.
Hurricane surveillance was in effect in Florida north of Deerfield Beach to Jupiter Inlet, as well as from the Brevard and Volusia County line to the mouth of the St. Mary's River on the Georgia border.
Will it land in the United States?
The terrifying storm may be moving towards the east coast, but it is still unclear whether Dorian will touch land and where in the United States. The predicted trajectory of the hurricane changed this Friday, which makes the arrival in Florida less likely, but not impossible.
The models now show the storm that borders the Florida coast on Tuesday and then next to Georgia late Tuesday and until Wednesday. But the fact that the center of the storm does not reach the ground does not mean that there will be no damage. On Monday morning, the hurricane winds of the storm extended up to 72 kilometers.
"Hurricane conditions are expected within the hurricane warning area in Florida late tonight or Tuesday," the hurricane center said. "Hurricane conditions are possible in the hurricane surveillance area on Wednesday."
He also said that "life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane winds are expected along parts of the east coast of Florida until mid-week."
LOOK: This is the projected route of Hurricane Dorian for this week
Heavy rains and potentially fatal floods are expected in parts of the southeast and the lower Mid-Atlantic of the United States later this week. The storm will shed up to 15.2 centimeters of rain in Florida across Georgia.
On Monday morning, a coastal flood warning was issued to South Carolina and Georgia by the National Weather Service, which warned of a high intensity current. And the hurricane center warned of a "rising probability" of strong winds and dangerous storm surges along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina later this week.
“It is likely that the strongest damage will occur along the coasts with erosion of the beach, floods due to heavy rains and storm surges and there will be areas that are likely to experience a disastrous storm surge that could cause widespread damage to buildings along the coast, ”said Shackelford.
In Wilmington, North Carolina, resident Christina Dowe said she bought a new house in November after her house was almost destroyed by Hurricane Florence.
“We have only been trying to obtain non-perishable products, water, flashlights. We are just trying to get the things we need, so we can be better prepared than last year, ”he told Ana Cabrera of CNN.
She says she plans to buckle up and pray that "everything goes better than last year."
MIRA: What to do before, during and after a hurricane? Look at this guide
Three coastal states are prepared
Evacuation orders were in effect for 13 counties in Florida as of Monday morning, according to the Florida Emergency Management Division.
The agency urged residents who were in areas that were not under mandatory evacuations to "plan for adequate supplies in case they lose electricity and water for several days."
"Seeing a catastrophic category 5 hurricane approaching our third most populous state is tremendously disconcerting," said FEMA strategic planner Michael Lowry on Twitter. “Dorian is already a disaster for many tonight. Please pay attention to the warnings of local officials in the next few hours. ”
More than 900 flights entering and leaving Florida airports were canceled, according to data from Flightaware.com.
LOOK: The climate crisis is making hurricanes more dangerous
The Orlando Melbourne International Airport and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport will suspend commercial flights and close the terminals at noon on Monday.
In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp ordered mandatory evacuations Sunday night in six coastal counties east of Interstate 95. Possible fallen trees, power lines, debris and floods, as well as roads and bridges that may become impassable, were the reasons behind the evacuations, according to the order.
The order will be valid until Monday night, the governor said.
The governor of South Carolina Henry McMaster also ordered the evacuation of coastal residents of South Carolina from noon on Monday.
Christy Hall, secretary of the South Carolina Department of Transportation, said the agency has more than 2,200 employees working on hurricane plans. She said department employees will be on land to help with lane changes and are currently working with Florida and Georgia to monitor traffic flows in and across the state.
'My house sounds like the ocean,' says a Bahamas resident
This is the first time a category 5 storm has hit the Bahamas since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Category 5 storms have winds above 156 mph (251 kilometers per hour) and cause a "high percentage of destroyed houses" with "total roof failure and wall collapse," says the hurricane center.
"Fallen trees and power poles will insulate residential areas," according to the center. “The power outages will last between weeks and possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months. ”
Dorian, at one point, had sustained winds of almost 185 mph (295 kilometers per hour), but the storm has slowed slightly as it moved overland.
Vickareio Adderely, a Marsh Harbor resident, said his house was filled with water on Sunday after Dorian hit the area. One of the rooms in his house was "missing," he said, and a hole in his roof "grew bigger."
Adderely said his four relatives were curled up on a single mattress in the only room in his house "that didn't collapse."
"There are three houses adjacent to mine that also lost their roof," he said. While sending messages during intermittent periods of Internet connection, he said he was standing in the water to his knees and felt strong gusts that continued to "tear apart the rest of our roof."
"There is no way we have prepared for this," he said. "My house sounds like the ocean."
The Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hubert Minnis, said the islands were "facing a hurricane that we had never seen before."
"Please pray for us," he said.
CNN's Taylor Barnes, Christina Zdanowicz, Helena de Moura and Mitch McCluskey contributed to this report.
Hurricane Dorian