AFP |
Some 2,500 people are unaccounted for in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian, the archipelago’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Wednesday. NEMA spokesman Carl Smith told reporters that some of the missing people may eventually be located.
The damage from Hurricane #Dorian in the Bahamas could reach as high as $6.5 billion dollars, an incredible amount for a country that brings in roughly $2.85 billion a year from tourism pic.twitter.com/6GR38r7wVl
— Pattrn (@pattrn) September 11, 2019
“At this point, there are approximately 2,500 individuals registered on the Bahamian government register (of missing people),” Smith said. “This list has not yet been checked against government records of who is staying in shelters or who have been evacuated,” he said.
Smith also said that permission was being given to resume commercial flights to Abaco on a “limited basis,” but priority would be given to relief and evacuation flights.
“Some individuals who have been evacuated from Abaco and Grand Bahama have not yet registered with social services,” Smith said. “As we are able to cross reference our data sets we will be able to inform family members and reunite survivors with loved ones.”
At least 50 people died in the hurricane, which slammed into the northern Bahamas as a Category 5 storm, and officials have said they expect the number to rise significantly.
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“We’re not going to speculate on what the final numbers will be,” Smith said. “We understand that people are concerned and so are we.”
Makai Simmons had his first day back at school in Florida Monday after missing a week of school while he and his mom were stuck in the Bahamas during Hurrican Dorian.
His classmates couldn't be more thrilled to see him!(📷 Credit: Michael D. Cisneros) pic.twitter.com/3ZMHNdOhdK
— WRTV Indianapolis (@wrtv) September 10, 2019
The NEMA spokesman said more than 5,500 people have been evacuated so far from the northern Bahamas islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, which were devastated by the storm.
Some 2,500 people are unaccounted for in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian, the archipelago’s National Emergency Management Agency.
He said that over the past day or so there had been a “significant reduction,” however, in the numbers of people seeking to leave.
Smith also said that permission was being given to resume commercial flights to Abaco on a “limited basis,” but priority would be given to relief and evacuation flights.
Read more: Dorian leaves a trail of hellish destruction in Bahamas
The NEMA spokesman said Abaco’s power grid had suffered extensive damage. “Marsh Harbour power station was completely destroyed,” he said of the largest town on the island of more than 15,000 people.
An official with Bahamas Power and Light Ltd said electricity to the south of Abaco could be restored in about three weeks but it may be a few months before the rest of the island gets power.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk.