In Bahamas, they hope to find a "staggering" death toll

The prime minister of Bahamas, Hubert Minnis, reported that the provisional death toll rose from 30 to 43 after the impact suffered by the passage of hurricane Dorian in the archipelago, last weekend.

"The loss of lives we are experiencing is catastrophic and devastating," said Minnis, and acknowledged that many people are still missing and that the death toll can increase significantly and be "amazing."

The Bahamians who lost everything after the passing of the devastating hurricane Dorian rushed this Saturday to escape the most affected islands.

More than 260 inhabitants of the Abaco Islands, the most beaten in the Bahamas, arrived in the capital Nassau after a seven-hour trip on a chartered ferry by the government. The arrival of another ferry was planned during the night.
Residents described the brutal conditions faced by those still on the islands. They reported that the smell of the bodies still to be recovered, along with the piles of garbage that accumulated rapidly, was oppressive and unhygienic.

Several hangars at the small Marsh Harbor airport were destroyed by Dorian, but its runway is still passable and hundreds of people were waiting there on Saturday to embark on Nassau.

"It's been almost a week, People have no food or water. The bodies are still lying, it is not healthy to stay here, "says Chamika Durosier, who breathed fresh air out of the airport to escape the bad smell of the toilets, which cannot be discharged due to lack of water.
"Some sleep here for three or four days because the amount of space on airplanes is limited," he continues, still shocked by the impact of the hurricane that collapsed the roof of his house on her and her daughter.

In Freeport, thousands of people, some still disoriented by the events of the week, lined up in the harbor hoping to board a ship on the Bahamas Paradise cruise line that offers free tickets to Florida.
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis confirmed the number of 43 dead, specifying that 35 died in the Abaco Islands and eight others in Grand Bahama after the monstrous storm.

With many missing, "this number is expected to increase significantly," said spokeswoman Erica Wells Cox, on the US network NBC.

Health Minister Duane Sands had said the eventual death toll will be "shocking."
"Hundreds and even thousands of people are literally still missing," Joy Jibrilu, general director of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation told CNN.
Thousands of people were homeless in Grand Bahama and Abacus and many expressed frustration with the slowness of aid.
"There are no fuel stations, there are no food stores, my work does not exist," said Melanie Lowe of Marsh Harbor, whose house was partially destroyed. Before being evacuated to Nassau, "we were 16 people in a room of three."

According to the UN, more than 70,000 people, virtually the entire population of Grand Bahama and Abacus, need help after the storm ravaged their homes and disrupted their lives.
On Saturday, the arrival of a shipment of the UN World Food Program with 15,000 meals and tons of equipment was expected to arrive on the islands.

The United States Coast Guard and private organizations have moved people from Abaco and other islands to Nassau.
The international effort, which also includes the British Royal Navy and several NGOs, has been hampered by flooding at airport runways, wrecks at the docks and communication problems.
Some inhabitants of the Bahamas displaced by the storm slept in tents installed at Nassau airport, not far from where the planes landed and took off.

---

What about tourism?

The Bahamas saw a record year for tourism. Then Hurricane Dorian passed. Now, the outlook for that vital sector of the economy is uncertain.

The monstrous storm forgave some of the best-known resorts in the 700-island archipelago, such as Atlantis, Paradise Island. Also to Nassau, the largest city.

But 160 kilometers away, on the Grand Bahama Island and the Abaco Islands, many smaller hotels and pensions were damaged or destroyed. The challenge is twofold: to convince tourists to keep coming without trivializing suffering on the affected islands.
"All donations are welcome, but a great help for us will be visits to the unaffected islands of the Bahamas. They are open," said Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, Ellison Thompson.

Tourism accounts for half of the gross domestic product of the Bahamas, of $ 5.7 billion, according to the Bahamas Investment Authority. In comparison, tourism accounts for 20% of Hawaii's GDP and less than 3% of the GDP of the entire United States.

The Ministry of Tourism confirmed Friday that all hotels in Abaco and Grand Bahama are closed. Together these islands have about 3,000 hotel rooms, 19% of the total of 16,000 in the archipelago, according to Frank Comito, president of the Hotel and Tourism Association. In addition there are hundreds of holiday homes. Airbnb has more than 600 properties for rent in the Grand Bahama and Abaco Islands.
According to official statistics, Grand Bahama received 670,000 visitors in 2018, the vast majority of them on cruise ships. More than 100,000 arrived by air at Marsh Harbor, the largest population of the Abaco Islands.

Comito has properties on the Abaco beaches, but does not know what state they are in. The owners of Pelican Beach Villas said that Doria totally destroyed their cabins near Marsh Harbor, and that the US ICE evacuated them to Nassau. Firefly Resort Abaco tweeted photos of fallen trees and a building is roof.
"Hurricane Dorian destroyed our paradise. We will rebuild it," the resort tweeted.