This archive report was first published on 2 September 2019.
Published on September 2, 2019, the Red Cross warned that as many as 13,000 houses may have been severely damaged or destroyed in the Bahamas due to Hurricane Dorian.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' Emergency Operation Centre in Geneva stated that the organisation does not yet have a complete picture of the damage, but it is clear that the hurricane has had a catastrophic impact.
"We anticipate extensive shelter needs, alongside the need for short-term economic support, as well as for clean water and health assistance," said Sune Bulow, head of the Emergency Operation Centre.
According to the Red Cross, the organisation has released 250,000 Swiss francs ($252,000, 230,000 euros) from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to bolster the initial response to the crisis and provide emergency shelter assistance to some 500 families.
As the strongest storm ever to hit the Caribbean chain, Hurricane Dorian packed sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 kilometre per hour) and crashed onshore in the Abacos Islands, in the northwest of the Bahamas.
With hundreds of thousands of people ordered to evacuate in the southeastern US states of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, the American Red Cross estimated that some 19 million people live in areas that could be impacted by the storm.
