Hurricane Dorian destruction set to cost Bahamas ‘up to billions’
BAHAMASThe destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas could cost “hundreds of millions, if not billions” of dollars to repair, according to the deputy prime minister, as aerial images showed whole neighbourhoods destroyed.
With the death toll climbing to seven and scores more still missing, helicopters operated by the US Coast Guard among others were delivering emergency supplies to residents on the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, the two worst hit locations in the Caribbean nation’s north. “It’s total devastation. It’s decimated. Apocalyptic,” said Lia HeadRigby, who helps run a local hurricane relief group, after flying over the Abaco Islands. “It’s not rebuilding something that was there; we have to start again.”
She said her representative on Abaco told her there were “a lot more dead”, though she could not provide numbers as bodies were still being gathered. Images on local media showed bodies being put on a truck, and there were fears others may have been washed out to sea during the storm surges that inundated the islands. According to reports early on Wednesday, some people remained stuck on rooftops waiting to be rescued. The death toll is expected rise in the coming days.
As the storm diminished from a powerful category 5 and moved on towards the US coast, the full scale of the damage started to be revealed, with airports underwater and whole residential neighbourhoods smashed by winds that reached 185mph and pounding waves. Initial assessments suggested that thousands of buildings had been damaged, some beyond repair, while people took shelter in cramped attic spaces to escape the rising flood waters. Aerial and satellite images showed flood waters covering much of the northern islands. The health minister, Duane Sands, said Dorian left the main hospital on Grand Bahama unusable, while the hospital at Marsh Harbour on Abaco was in need of food, water, medicine and surgical supplies. He said crews were trying to evacuate up to seven kidney failure patients from Abaco who had not received dialysis since Friday.
(The Guardian)