Hurricane Dorian has killed at least 43 people in the Bahamas as search and rescue teams continue to comb through the wreckage of the storm.
The hurricane struck the northern part of the stretch of islands as a Category 5 on Sept. 1. Dorian is the strongest hurricane ever recorded to hit the Bahamas. The storm brought intense flooding and wind that left whole sections of the island leveled.
Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced on Friday that at least 35 people are dead on the island of Abaco and eight on Grand Bahama Island, according to the Associated Press. The death toll is expected to keep increasing in the coming days.
Hundreds of people are now homeless and are waiting for evacuation. Minnis announced that the Bahamas government will pay for storm victims’ flights to the country’s capitol. Government and private ships are also working to ferry people off the most devastated islands.
Bahamian and U.S. emergency officials are working on delivering aid to those in need and to account for the damage. A slew of international organizations and governments are sending aid to the islanders.
