UN: 70,000 in the Bahamas in need of immediate aid

Some 70,000 people are in need of immediate aid in the Bahamas, which were devastated by Hurricane Dorian, a top UN official said Wednesday, citing food, water, shelter, and medicine.

The UN has released $1 million from its emergency fund to provide assistance to victims, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock told journalists during a phone call from Nassau.

The death toll from Hurricane Dorian rose to 20 on Wednesday, Bahamian Minister of Health Duane Sands said, quoted by local and US media, as rescuers plucked victims from the wreckage.

“At this point, we are starting to get a more vivid picture of the loss of life, at least in Abaco, and the loss of life in Grand Bahama,” Sands told local radio, according to the Nassau Guardian.

“So, the toll has risen to just 20 persons... in Abaco and Grand Bahama thus far. But bear in mind that search and rescue exercises, exploration of homes that were flooded, is just now starting.”