NASSAU (Bahamas), Sept 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least seven people have been killed in the Bahamas by Hurricane Dorian, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said, after the storm delivered a devastating blow to the islands.
Minnis said an additional two individuals had died, saying “that would take the number of deaths to seven.”
“We can expect more deaths to be recorded,” he added.
“We are in the midst of a historic tragedy in parts of the northern Bahamas,” Minnis said in a news conference Tuesday.
Minnis confirmed that seven people in Abaco had died as a result of the hurricane that has reportedly destroyed thousands of homes on the island. At least 21 people were injured and taken to hospitals, he said.
“The devastation is unprecedented and extensive,” Minnis said.
Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas on Sunday as a Category 5 storm with 185 mph winds — the strongest hurricane to ever strike the country.
Minnis and other officials began to survey damage on Abaco on Tuesday, and in some communities, 60% of homes had been destroyed. A shanty town known as the Mud was “completely destroyed or decimated,” he said.
Dorian slammed the islands with storm surge 12 to 15 feet above normal tide levels “with higher destructive waves,” according to the National Hurricane Center. After battering the Bahamas for two days, the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 2 storm early Tuesday.
Forecasters warned residents to remain in shelters as dangerous winds gusting up to 140 mph and extreme flooding were expected to continue over Grand Bahama for much of Tuesday. The unprecedented storm was expected to move toward Florida and the southeast coast on Wednesday.
Minnis said his country’s emergency management agency would be working with the US and other international partners to bring aid to storm victims.
He also applauded Bahamanian civilians for helping in search and rescue efforts, and asked those with resources that could help search crews to get involved.
“We are seeing the courage of Bahamian volunteers who are coming to the rescue of others using whatever resources they have at hand,” he said. — NNN-AGENCIES
