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Hurricane Dorian death toll reaches to 43 in The Bahamas

More than 260 residents of brutally damaged Abaco Island arrived in the capital city of Nassau after spending more than seven hours on a government-chartered ferry, a second of which was expected to arrive overnight.

Hurricane Dorian death toll reaches to 43 in The Bahamas

(Photo: IANS)

The death toll from Hurricane Dorian’s devastating rampage across the Bahamas rose to 43 on Friday, according to authorities.

More than 260 residents of brutally damaged Abaco Island arrived in the capital city of Nassau after spending more than seven hours on a government-chartered ferry, a second of which was expected to arrive overnight.

Health Minister Duane Sands has confirmed the new death toll of 43, up from 30, The Tribune reported.

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“Forty-three is the official count, many missing and this number is expected to grow significantly,” Erica Wells Cox, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Hubert Minnis, told NBC News.

Thousands of people were left homeless on the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco and many were becoming frustrated with the speed of relief and evacuation efforts.

“There’s no gas station, no food stores, my job is gone,” said Melanie Lowe of Marsh Harbour, whose house was partially destroyed and had packed into a two-bedroom apartment with 16 people before arriving in Nassau.

According to UN relief officials, more than 70,000 people — virtually the entire population of Grand Bahama and Abaco — are in need of assistance after the storm reduced homes to matchsticks and destroyed people’s livelihoods.

The Category 2 storm, with winds of 110 mph, was lashing central Florida’s east coast the National Hurricane Center said.

Life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds are expected along the state’s coast as well as along the coasts of Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas, regardless of the hurricane’s exact track, the center said.

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