UN tells of Bahamas tragedy as Dorian batters US

By James Reinl

NEW YORK (AA) - The United Nations said on Friday that Hurricane Dorian had left 70,000 people homeless in the Bahamas, as high winds continued to wreak havoc as it crawled up the East Coast of the United States.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric described ongoing search and rescue operations around the hurricane-lashed Abaco and Grand Bahama islands, where the UN has handed out 1,000 tarpaulins to replace roofs stripped from homes.

“After everyone has been rescued and the wounded safely evacuated, the agency will focus on providing temporary shelter for those who lost their homes,” Dujarric told reporters in New York.

The storm caused at least 30 deaths in the Bahamas and officials say that hundreds of islanders, possibly thousands, are still missing.

Teams from the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) are providing medicine, food and drinking water to survivors, added Dujarric, as many clinics and hospitals in Grand Bahama have been flooded by the storm surge.

“Due to floodwaters and potential contamination with sewage, the risk of diarrheal and waterborne diseases is high,” said Dujarric. “WHO will be working with the government to provide medical supplies and emergency physicians as needed.”

Dorian made landfall on the U.S. state of North Carolina on Friday morning, with wind speeds of 90mph, or 150 km/h lashing coastal communities, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane is expected to make landfall again on Saturday in Nova Scotia, a Canadian province, after causing storm surges and dangerous winds as it passes by Virginia and other north-eastern U.S. states.