People in the Bahamas were stocking up on groceries, water and other essentials and boarding up windows as they prepared Friday for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian.

"Do not be foolish and try to brave out this hurricane," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in a press conference. "The price you may pay for not evacuating is your life."

A hurricane warning was in effect for the northwestern Bahamas as Dorian was forecast to begin impacting the region by Saturday night or early Sunday.

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Evacuations were ordered for some residents on the island of Grand Bahama, where Freeport is located, and also in Abaco, according to the Nassau Guardian newspaper.

"I'm really worried," Kevin Adderley, a 48-year-old business owner who was securing his mechanic shop in Freeport, told the Associated Press. "I'm going to bunker down home with my kids."

Government offices closed at noon on Friday and schools were also closed.

Shelves were stripped of canned food and water in some stores, and long lines formed at gas stations.

Some residents worried about the forecast strength of the storm.

"The food store is very packed," 47-year-old Gina Davis told the AP as she pushed her grocery cart through the aisle. "I'm very concerned because it's going to be a Category 4 storm. ... We pray to God that it don't do us bad."

Officials noted that the Bahamas has taken a hit from a hurricane in each of three previous years: hurricanes Joaquin in 2015, Matthew in 2016 and Irma in 2017. The three storms caused a total of $80 million in damage.