Bahamas

2,500 people listed as missing in the Bahamas

cde.news desk 12 September 2019, 04:58 · 2 min read

epa07830443 A handout picture provided by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) showing the aftermath of hurricane Dorian in Fox Town on the island of Little Abaco, 07 September 2019, issued 09 September 2019. The HADR troop were put ashore to start two different route clearance?s, one going south to Marsh Harbour and one going north to Cooper?s Town on Great Abaco. The team also handed out aid on route will meet some of the community on the journey. The ship has been in the Caribbean since June in preparation for the hurricane season and was re-tasked last week to sail to The Bahamas in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian, the strongest ever recorded in The Bahamas. EPA-EFE/LPhot PAUL HALLIWELL / BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/HANDOUT MANDATORY CREDIT: MOD/CROWN COPYRIGHT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Bahamas emergency services have listed 2,500 people as missing after Hurricane Dorian struck the islands last week.

Bahamas officials had earlier conceded the final death toll could be “staggering”.

This official count suggests the death toll will be much higher than the current 50, though the number of missing has yet to be checked against those in shelters and should fall.

Bahamas Hurricane Dorian aftermath — A handout picture provided by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) showing personnel from British Royal Navy Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship Mounts Bay, delivering aid to the community of Fox Town on the island of Little Abaco, Bahamas. The MOD report that the town was shut off from the main island when the connecting bridge was washed away during hurricane Dorian. RFA Mounts Bay deployed the RLC’s MEXEFloat to deliver the aid. The team also handed out aid on route will meet some of the community on the journey. The ship has been in the Caribbean since June in preparation for the hurricane season and was re-tasked last week to sail to The Bahamas in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian, the strongest ever recorded in The Bahamas. EPA-EFE/LPhot PAUL HALLIWELL / BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/HANDOUT

The list was announced by Carl Smith, a spokesman for the country’s National Emergency Management Agency (Nema), but he expressed caution as a database was still being processed and some of the people already evacuated had yet to register their names.

Tens of thousands of people remain in need of aid.

Dorian equalled the highest winds ever recorded for a hurricane at landfall when it struck the Abaco Islands.

Via Bahamas Press/ BBC/NEMA

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Topics bahamas Hurricane Dorian