(Editor’s Note: We were lucky to just have some leaks as a result of hurricane Dorian. Having lost a home in a tornado, and several in hurricanes, I truly feel for these people. I don’t think I have ever seen this type of devastation before over such a large area. My heart goes out to all of those affected by this catastrophic storm.)
An island in the Bahamas that’s home to 50,000 people is 70 percent under water after Hurricane Dorian battered it with record force for two days, according to the government.
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Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Kevin Peter Turnquest said that there are “still many outstanding rescue missions,” on the island of Grand Bahama. He added:
“It’s not looking good as we expect catastrophic damage.”1
Airports and seaports in Grand Bahama and the nearby Abaco Islands are damaged or flooded, severely hampering the efforts of rescuing people cut off by flood waters.
The National Emergency Management Agency sent out an “urgent plea” for owners of equipment such as flatbeds, jet skis, small boats, trucks and buses to meet at a shopping mall on Grand Bahama to help with the rescue operation.
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The U.S. Coast Guard and British Royal Navy sent ships to assist.
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At least twenty people have died in the storm, but National Security Minister Marvin Dames said this figure is likely to rise, and will include some children, according to a report in the Nassau Guardian, a local newspaper.
Humanitarian aid organizations estimate 13,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in the Bahamas, according to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands are home to 2,250 of the 17,500 hotel rooms within the Bahamas, according to Resort Capital Partners, a real estate investment advisory firm that covers the region.
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Hurricane Dorian’s two day impact on Grand Bahama and Abaco is catastrophic. According to Ryan Truchelut, president of Weather Tiger in Tallahassee, Florida, it may be the greatest hurricane ever experienced by any populated area in the Atlantic basin.
