NASSAU, Bahamas (AFP) — The Bahamas had a close call but ultimately escaped the worst of Hurricane Irma’s destructive wrath, with no casualties or major infrastructure damages yet reported Friday. The storm passed through the southeast islands including Mayagua, Inagua, Crooked Island Acklins, Long Cay and Ragged Islands, on Thursday and Friday.

While major buildings withstood the winds, reports indicated that there were several downed power lines, toppled trees, debris, littered roads and roofs damaged.

But Bahamian forecaster Jeffrey Greene cautioned: “we’re still not out of the woods as yet,” adding strong wind and rains were expected to continue for some time.

“We’re ok. Everything went ok. I was scared as ever, but thank God the storm has passed,” said Tyrell Major, 22, a resident of the southern Inagua Island, who decided to ignore the government’s evacuation orders.

“The way the wind was banging I thought my roof was going to lift off.”

As of Friday night, the storm was honing in on Florida as a Category Four hurricane, packing extremely dangerous winds of 150 miles (240 kilometres) per hour.