Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas on September 1, where it then stalled for around 36 hours, constantly and ferociously battering the Abaco and Grand Bahamas islands in the north of the archipelago. The hurricane has since moved off north and now threatens the east coast states of the USA. The Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the country was “in the midst of one of the greatest national crises” in its history – and the latest aerial photos reveal the scale of that devastation as it continues its savage path along the US coast.
Hurricane Dorian is the fourth named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season as well as the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Bahamas.
The storm caused extensive physical destruction across the northern islands in the Bahamas which can be seen from the air and officials have now only started to access the scope of the damage – revealing the heartbreaking rise in the death toll from the hurricane.
Homes were destroyed and in some cases entire neighbourhoods were laid to waste.
The only international airport on the island of Grand Bahama has been ripped apart, which has dealt a crushing blow to victims of the storm who desperately need international aid including urgent medicines, shelter, food and clean water.
According to the World Food Program, about 60,000 people may be in dire need of food supplies, while many others are still trapped by floodwaters awaiting rescue.
While the International Red Cross fears 45 percent of homes on Grand Bahama and the Abacos, roughly 13,000 properties, have been severely damaged or destroyed.
At it strongest Hurricane Dorian reached sustained wind speeds of 185mph, making it a Category 5 storm which causes “catastrophic damage” according to the NOAA.
Though the Bahamas regularly experiences hurricanes, Mr Minnis said the recent battering from Dorian caused “generational damage”.
He added: “We are in the midst of a historic tragedy. The devastation is unprecedented and extensive.
“We are in the midst of one of the greatest national crises in our country’s history. No effort or resources will be held back.”
Swaths of Abaco Island and Grand Bahama Island now look like ravaged wastelands, with the island overwhelmed by intense flooding, roads littered with debris and homes left dilapidated.
Brandon Clement, who shot footage of the destruction from a helicopter told CNN: “You can’t tell that there are any homes there.
“It looks like a bunch of building materials were put in a big grinder and thrown on the ground.”
Lia Head-Rigby, who runs a relief group and flew over the Abacos, told Associated Press news agency: “It’s total devastation. It’s decimated. Apocalyptic.”
Aerial images over Abaco Islands, including the port town of Marsh Harbour, show mile after mile of destruction, with roofs torn off, scattered debris, overturned cars, shipping containers and boats, and high water levels.
In all, parts of the Bahamas were inundated with up to 35 inches of rainfall.
But now the devastating storm has tracked its way towards the US.
According to the NOAA at 2am EDT (7am BST), Dorian was located at latitude 31.4 north, longitude 79.6 west, which is approximately 105 miles south southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and 220 miles south southwest of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Dorian, moving at 7mph, is expected to move parallel to the coast, bringing damaging winds and life-threatening storm surges along a large portion of the southeast and mid-Atlantic US coasts over the next couple of days.
While the storm has weakened since it wrecked the Bahamas, with current sustained wind speeds at 115mph, Dorian will still remain powerful and will likely cause damage and threaten the lives of US citizens living in the at risk areas.