Hurricane Dorian death toll continues to rise as storm regains Category 2 strength and heads towards Canada

‘We’ve ordered lots of body bags,’ medical chief says

The official death toll from Hurricane Dorian has risen to 43 and is likely to keep rising amid fears that a ”staggering” number of people have died in the storm-ravaged Bahamas.

The country’s leaders believe hundreds and perhaps thousands of people are missing in the archipelago nation after Dorian, the most powerful hurricane on record to hit the Bahamas, parked itself over part of the archipelago for almost two days earlier this week, pummelling it with Category 5 winds, with some gusts topping 320kph (200mph).

It levelled some neighbourhoods, swallowed others with storm surges and then went on to devastate parts of the Outer Banks Islands in North Carolina on Friday. The worst-hit area in the state was Ocracoke Island, with water levels some 13 inches higher than the levels wrought by a storm in 1944, which had long been considered the worst. Officials are going door to door to check on residents.

Dorian also brought tropical storm-force winds to southeastern Massachusetts and Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday morning, according to an advisory from the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Dorian is expected to make landfall in Canada’s Nova Scotia province on Saturday night and has regained its Category 2 strength, with winds of up to 150kph (100mph). It will leave up to seven inches of rain before pushing further east as a weakened post-tropical storm by Sunday, the National Hurricane Centre said. Forecasters say the storm is likely to uproot trees and bring the possibility of flash flooding, as well as likely power outages.

The Bahamas had suffered “a tremendous loss of life,” the country’s health minister, Duane Sands, said.

The medical chief of staff at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau said two refrigerated, 40-foot trucks would be needed to hold the “staggering” number of bodies likely to be found.

More than 1,100 Bahamians arrived in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, after being evacuated by a cruise ship from their hurricane-battered islands.

The Grand Celebration vessel returned to its home port after setting sail Thursday for Freeport, Grand Bahama, to deliver more than 112 tons of supplies and ferry dozens of health workers and emergency crews.

The destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian is seen from the air, in Marsh Harbor, Abaco Island, Bahamas (AP/Gonzalo Gaudenzi) (AP)

An array of organisations, countries and companies, including the United Nations, the US government, the British Royal Navy, American Airlines and Royal Caribbean, have mobilised to send in food, water, generators, roof tarps, flashlights and other supplies.

Donald Trump said on Saturday that the death toll in the Bahamas would have been significantly higher without his help.

In a tweet, the US president thanked Bahamian prime minister Hubert Minnis for his “very gracious and kind words” that “without the help of the United States and me, their would have been many more casualties”.

He then went on to thank Fema, the US Coast Guard, and the “brave” people on the Bahamas.

The UN estimated 70,000 people were in “immediate need of life-saving assistance” such as food, water and shelter.

The UN World Food Programme was airlifting storage units, generators, prefab offices, and satellite equipment as well as eight metric tonnes of ready-to-eat meals.

The American Red Cross said it had committed an initial $2m to help the Bahamas recover from the hurricane, with food, water and shelter and other necessities.

“Our relief operation is growing, but we are also facing serious challenges in terms of delivering aid,” Red Cross spokeswoman Jennifer Eli said.

“Even search-and-rescue choppers haven’t been able to reach some people because there’s no place to land. These challenges are affecting everyone.”

The risk of outbreaks of diarrhoea and waterborne diseases is high as drinking water may be tainted with sewage, according to the Pan American Health Organisation, which described the situation for some people on Abaco island as “desperate”.

Additional reporting by agencies