Foliated palms, ramshackle houses and wrecked carriages seemingly floating in a sea of ​​ruins: the Bahamas were devastated by the passage of Hurricane Dorian, with an interim record of at least seven dead. On the night of Tuesday 3 to Wednesday, September 4, Dorian, downgraded to category 2, was moving very slowly towards the United States.

Here are the images of the overwhelming destruction on Abaco Island that just aired on @CNN. Video by Brandon Clement. pic.twitter.com/1ahqspNhEz

- Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 3, 2019

In the Bahamas, in addition to the initial five victims, two people who were taken to hospital succumbed to their injuries, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced at a press conference. "We can expect more deaths, this is preliminary information," he said.

The Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama were still largely cut off from the world on Tuesday. "The area around our airport looks like a lake," said the prime minister.

At least 61,000 people are said to need food aid in the Bahamas, the UN said Tuesday. The Red Cross said the previous day that some 13,000 houses may have been damaged or destroyed in the Abacos and Grand Bahama Islands.

Evacuations in the United States

Ranked in the top 5 at the time of hitting the Bahamas, Dorian has since weakened. It was downgraded to category 2, with winds reaching 175 km / h, according to the latest bulletin from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), at midnight GMT Wednesday (2 pm in France). The hurricane was 180 km east of Cape Canaveral, Florida. It went up North, parallel to the coast of Florida, at a speed of 9 km / h. Several million people have been ordered to evacuate endangered areas in the United States.

Dorian is to be "dangerously close" to Florida by Wednesday night, before sailing along the Southeastern US coast and the states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The two states of Carolina have the highest risk of flooding, said the NHC, with 13 to 25 centimeters of rain and waves of 1.2 to more than 2 meters high expected in places. The eye of Dorian must pass "near or above" their coast between Thursday and Friday morning.

Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he has declared a state of emergency in North Carolina, to release funds in a preventive way, "hoping not to need it". "The United States may have had a bit of luck with Hurricane Dorian, but do not lower your guard," warned the US president on Twitter.

Solidarity

While waiting for Dorian, Florida residents, accustomed to hurricanes, showed solidarity with the neighboring Bahamas. Calls for donations multiplied and several churches organized collections in the Coconut Grove neighborhood, home of the Bahamian community in Miami.

The US military has been authorized to provide logistical, health and technical support to the Bahamas for 14 days, US Terrence General Terrence O'Shaughnessy said on Tuesday.

Dorian, who made a death during his visit to Puerto Rico before hitting the Bahamas on Sunday, is a hurricane as powerful as Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the Hurricane of Labor Day of 1935.

With AFP and Reuters