Relief effort underway for Bahamas
NASSAU • An international relief effort to bring humanitarian aid to stunned residents of the Bahamas gathered pace on Thursday as Hurricane Dorian churned northward off the coast of South Carolina, threatening storm surges and flooding.
Aerial video of the worsthit Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas showed widespread devastation, with the harbour, shops, workplaces, a hospital and airport landing strips damaged or destroyed.
The United Nations estimated more than 76,000 people were in need of humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm ever to hit the island nation.
Dorian was rated a Category 5 hurricane when it killed at least 20 people in the Bahamas. Authorities expect that number to rise, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at a news briefing, as retreating floodwaters revealed the scope of destruction.
At least one Canadian is among the dead. The family of Alishia Sabrina Liolli of Windsor, Ont., says she has died in the Bahamas. A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to bring Liolli’s body back to Canada.
With telephones down, residents posted lists of missing loved ones on social media. One Facebook post by Our News Bahamas had 2,500 comments, mainly listing lost family members.
A British Royal Navy vessel was providing assistance, and Jamaica was sending a 150-member military contingent, officials said.
As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
On Thursday the hurricane flooded parts of downtown Charleston, S.C., prompting a flash-flood warning in addition to a storm-surge warning.
The storm’s winds have decreased slightly since Thursday morning, when the storm was rated a Category 3 “major” hurricane. However, in terms of impacts, there’s little difference between a low-end Category 3 storm and a high-end Category 2.
The storm’s impacts will be felt northward into Virginia Thursday night and Friday, where low-lying communities could see a storm surge of two to four feet, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Dorian is projected to remain near or cross over the coast of North Carolina.
In parts of northeast South Carolina and southeast North Carolina, bands of wind were spinning up tornadoes and waterspouts, with multiple warnings in effect.
Approximately 220,000 customers were without power in South Carolina as tropical-storm-force winds sped to over 112 km/h.
The storm is expected to remain a hurricane through Friday, before transitioning into more of a nontropical storm system that may go on to batter the Maritimes.