NASSAU (Bahamas) • Stunned residents of the Bahamas surveyed the wreckage of their homes and officials struggled to assess the number killed by Hurricane Dorian, as the storm bore down on the South Carolina coast, threatening record flooding.
The United Nations said 70,000 people in the Bahamas needed immediate humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm to hit the island nation.
Aerial video of the worst-hit Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas showed widespread devastation, with the harbour, shops, workplaces, a hospital and airport landing strips damaged or decimated, frustrating rescue efforts.
One of the most powerful Caribbean storms on record, Dorian was rated a Category 5 hurricane when it killed at least 20 people in the Bahamas.
The authorities expect that number to rise, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at a news briefing, as retreating flood waters revealed the scope of destruction.
"My island of Abaco, everything is gone. No banks, no stores, no nothing," said Marsh Harbour resident Ramond A. King as he surveyed the wreckage of his home, which had its roof ripped off and debris scattered throughout. "Everything is gone, just bodies."
With telephones down in many areas, residents posted lists of missing loved ones on social media.
One Facebook post by media outlet Our News Bahamas had 2,500 comments, mainly listing lost family members.
Dorian could cost the country US$7 billion (S$9.7 billion) in insured and uninsured losses, according to an estimate from risk modeller Karen Clark & Co.
The preliminary estimate combines damage to commercial, residential and industrial properties as well as business-interruption expenses, the company said in a report yesterday. The figure does not include vehicle losses or damage to infrastructure.
Dorian killed one person in Puerto Rico before hovering over the Bahamas for two days with torrential rain and fierce winds that whipped up 3.7m to 5.5m storm surges.
South Carolina was preparing for a record storm surge, potentially reaching a height of 2.4m at the popular vacation destination of Myrtle Beach, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said in an advisory.
As of last night (Singapore time), the centre of Dorian was south-south-east of Charleston, South Carolina, and was headed north-northeast at about 13kmh, the NHC said. It was packing 185kmh winds and will bring heavy rain today.
About 30cm of rain will fall on flood-prone Charleston and many parts of the coasts of the Carolinas said Mr Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Centre in College Park, Maryland.
"More than 185,000 homes and businesses were already without power along the South Carolina and Georgia coastal areas, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us
The streets of downtown Charleston were all but deserted early yesterday as driving rain and strong winds lashed the city.
More than 2.2 million people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have been ordered to evacuate, although Florida has avoided a direct hit.
An international relief effort was under way for the Bahamas, with a British Royal Navy vessel providing assistance and Jamaica sending a 150-member military contingent to help secure Abaco and Grand Bahama, officials said.
Volunteers also ferried supplies to the islands in a flotilla of small boats.
"Let us give of our best in this moment of historic tragedy," Mr Minnis said.
REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
