The news from the Bahamas remains grim. Fifty people are now confirmed dead, but with an estimated 2500 people registered as missing that the number is expected to increase significantly. Authorities are hopeful many of the missing will be found after communications are re-established on parts of the islands where power and phones have been cut off.
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency says 15,000 people are still desperately in need of shelter or food. USA Today adds:
Thousands are scattered across the islands, with more than 5,000 people ending up on New Providence, the island where Nassau, the capital, is located. Authorities plan to put up tent cities in Nassau and as well as on Abaco, one of the hardest hit islands, where shelter for some 4,000 is planned.
Meanwhile, damage estimates are coming. The Weather Channel writes:
Risk modeler Karen Clark & Co. has estimated that Hurricane Dorian could cost the country $7 billion in insured and uninsured losses.
The preliminary estimate combines damage to commercial, residential and industrial properties as well as business-interruption expenses, the company said in a report last week. The figure doesn’t include vehicle losses or damage to infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a new storm is forming in the Atlantic that could bring heavy rain to the islands impacted by Hurricane Dorian.