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Some 13,000 homes may have been damaged or destroyed by the passage of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas as the winds approaching 300 km / h hit the Caribbean archipelago.
" We do not yet have a complete picture of what happened. But it is clear that Hurricane Dorian had a catastrophic impact , "said Sune Bulow, head of the emergency operations center of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
In a statement, the humanitarian official explained that the Geneva-based organization expects " significant shelter needs ". Residents will also need clean water, health assistance and short-term economic support, he said.
Category 5 hurricane, described as " catastrophic " by the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), landed on Sunday in Elbow Cay, on the Abacos Islands in northwestern Bahamas, a country of some 700 islands. According to the NHC, Dorian is " the most violent hurricane in modern history in northwestern Bahamas ".
Review of the victims still unknown
The hurricane caused " considerable damage to the Abacos Islands and Grand Bahama in the Bahamas, " according to early rapid assessments of authorities and Red Cross officials in the field. According to these reports, " up to 13,000 homes may have been severely damaged or destroyed, " the IFRC said. In addition, extensive flooding on Abaco Island has reportedly contaminated salt water wells, creating an urgent need for clean water.
Hurricane Dorian is heading for Florida and the east coast of the United States. According to the American Red Cross, 19 million people live in areas that could be affected by the storm, and up to 50,000 people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina may need emergency shelter according to its impact.
(with AFP)