'Apocalyptic': Hurricane Dorian's destruction sparks humanitarian crisis
Freeport: Relief officials reported scenes of utter ruin on Tuesday in parts of the Bahamas and rushed to deal with an unfolding humanitarian crisis in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, the most powerful storm on record ever to hit the islands.
At least seven deaths were reported, with the full scope of the disaster still unknown.
The storm's punishing winds and muddy brown floodwaters destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes, crippled hospitals and trapped people in attics.
"It's total devastation. It's decimated. Apocalyptic," said Lia Head-Rigby, who helps run a local hurricane relief organisation and flew over the Bahamas' hard-hit Abaco Islands. "It's not rebuilding something that was there; we have to start again."
She said her representative on Abaco told her that there were "a lot more dead" and that the bodies were being gathered. The prime minister also expected more deaths and predicted that rebuilding would require "a massive, coordinated effort."
"We are in the midst of one of the greatest national crises in our country's history," Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told a news conference. "No effort or resources will be held back."
Practically parking over a portion of the Bahamas for a day and a half, Dorian pounded the northern Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama with winds up to 295 km/h and torrential rain before finally moving into open waters on Tuesday on a course for Florida.
Its winds were down to a still-dangerous 175 km/h, making it a Category 2 storm.
Over 2 million people along the coast in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were warned to evacuate. While the threat of a direct hit on Florida had all but evaporated, Dorian was expected to pass dangerously close to Georgia and South Carolina - and perhaps strike North Carolina - on Thursday or Friday.
Even if landfall does not occur, the system is likely to cause storm surge and severe flooding, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
Dorian was centred about 200 kilometres southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was moving northwest at 7 km/h. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 83 kilometres from its centre.
The coastline from north of West Palm Beach, Florida, through Georgia was expected to get seven to 15 centimetres of rain, with 9 inches in places, while the Carolinas could get up to 23 centimetres in spots, the National Hurricane Centre said.
AP