This archive report was first published on 12 September 2019.
Published on September 12, 2019, by AFP
Approximately 2,500 people are unaccounted for in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian, the archipelago's National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) said.
Nema spokesman Carl Smith explained that some of the missing people may eventually be located once their data is cross-referenced with government records of those staying in shelters or who have been evacuated.
"At this point, there are approximately 2,500 individuals registered on the Bahamian government register (of missing people)," Smith said.
According to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), approximately 76,000 people were affected by Dorian, with thousands evacuated and about 860 in emergency shelters in the capital city of Nassau.
At least 50 people died in the hurricane, which slammed into the northern Bahamas as a Category 5 storm, and officials expect the number to rise significantly.
"We're not going to speculate on what the final numbers will be," Smith said. "We understand that people are concerned and so are we."
Over 5,500 people have been evacuated so far from the northern Bahamas islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, which were devastated by the storm.
Resident Rhonda Hull expressed her determination to rebuild her island, saying, "But people will come back."
Commercial flights to Abaco are set to resume on a limited basis, with priority given to relief and evacuation flights.
The Nema spokesman reported that Abaco's power grid had suffered extensive damage, with the Marsh Harbour power station completely destroyed.
According to an official with Bahamas Power and Light Ltd, electricity to the south of Abaco could be restored in about three weeks, but it may be a few months before the rest of the island gets power.
California-based risk modelling and analytics firm RMS estimated that Dorian likely caused between $3.5 and $6.5 billion in insured damages in the Caribbean, most notably in the Bahamas.
