While the official record, a week after the passage of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, is currently at least 50 dead, authorities still seek to locate 2,500 people.
"At present, about 2,500 people are on the government registry (...) of missing persons," said Carl Smith, representative of the Bahamian Emergency Agency (NEMA) on Wednesday. This list has "not yet been compared to government records of people in shelters or who have been evacuated," he said.
According to the spokesman, 5,500 people were evacuated from the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, the most affected. He noted, however, a "significant reduction" in the number of people seeking evacuation from Tuesday.
Research continues
The government again authorized commercial flights to Abaco, where the airport had been reopened in the middle of last week. But these flights are "limited" to give priority to emergency aid and evacuations, said the spokesman.
The hurricane left at least 42 dead in Abaco and 8 in Grand Bahama, according to an official report still provisional, but the number of victims should increase while the search operations continue. "We are not going to speculate on the total number," explained Carl Smith, "we understand that people are worried and so are we."
According to him, 90% of the infrastructure was damaged between Marsh Harbor and Treasure Cay, 30 km to the north. The north of the Bahamas archipelago remains in chaos and the emergency phase is not over.
In Abaco, electrical installations have been severely damaged and only a few buildings such as the airport, clinic and local administration have power. The power station at Marsh Harbor, Abaco's main city of more than 15,000, "was completely destroyed," Carl Smith said.
With AFP