New storm hits Bahamas

NASSAU: A new storm brought rain and wind to the hurricane ravaged Bahamas early yesterday, with the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) warning it could turn into a tropical storm.

It was a tropical disturbance over the Bahamas yesterday, packing winds of 45kph and was expected to drop 7 to 12cm of rain tomorrow, the NHC said.

There was an 80 per cent chance that it would turn into a stronger tropical depression, or even a tropical storm, named Humberto in the next day or so as it crawls at 5kph across the Bahamas and took aim at Florida.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for northwestern Bahamas, including hurricane-hit Abacos and Grand Bahama.

The storm was expected to pick up speed as it moved northwest yesterday and could hit Florida today.

Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas on Sept 1 as a Category 5 storm, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record to hit land, packing top sustained winds of 298kph.

The tropical cyclone was not expected to bring anywhere near that level of devastation.

With 1,300 people missing, according to the Bahamian government, relief services were focused on search-and-rescue, as well as providing food, water and shelter.

Aid groups rushed shelter material to residents living in the shells of former homes.

“We’re seeing plastic tarps go out all over the islands, and that’s extremely important because now you’ve got another tropical storm coming,” said Ken Isaacs, vice president of programmes for United States relief organisation Samaritan’s Purse.

Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said on Wednesday the official death toll stood at 50, but was expected to rise.

He said there were problems coordinating aid due to the level of devastation.

Former prime minister Hubert Ingraham said he believed “hundreds” were dead on Abaco “and significant numbers on Grand Bahama”, the Nassau Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday.