Bahamas search and rescue begins today

Hurricane Dorian, now a Category 2 Storm, moved away from the Bahamas around 8 pm Tuesday night.

This morning, in an interview on CNC3's Morning Brew, Bahamas Minister of Tourism Dionisio D'Aguilar said the devastation in Abaco and Grand Bahama islands was overwhelming.

He said on those islands, there was no infrastructure, no light, no water, and no airport.

D'Aguilar said the Bahamian Government's first task was search and rescue.

He said today is the first day the government will be able to begin assessing the devastation of the islands as the deadly storm moved away from the country around 8 pm Tuesday night.

"The first thing we want to do is rescue people who are still trapped in their home. That is the first task at hand. Our primary goal is search and rescue; our next step is shelter," D'Aguilar said.

He said the initial concern is to get food and water on the ground.

"There is a lot at hand and sometimes it can be overwhelming but we are beginning to put the process in place and begin the road to recovery," he said.

He said the Government was not aware of how many people were trapped on the islands.

"We can't use the airport. We can use helicopters and fly over but we have not been able to get on the ground in sufficient numbers to assess and get credible and specific numbers. We do not know whether there is access to the port."

There are about 21,000 households between the two islands and D'Aguilar said the majority were badly damaged. Shelters on the island were also compromised.

Caricom countries, the US and the UK have pledged support to assist Bahamas in its recovery efforts.

Local NGOs have also started mobilising to send aid to the country.