Dorian Leaves a Path of Death and Destruction
Dorian still packs high winds and rain and is set to move over or near Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador province Sunday before entering the North Atlantic
The history-making storm known as Dorian got in its last licks Sunday before heading into the North Atlantic for its welcome demise.
Dorian – now what is known as a post-tropical cyclone – battered the Canadian Maritime provinces and far-eastern Quebec with tropical storm force winds, tearing off the roofs of homes and buildings, uprooting trees, and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands.
No Canadian storm deaths are reported.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary flight restrictions to U.S. aircraft over the Bahamas to reserve the airspace for search and rescue missions.
The FAA says its order came at the request of the Bahamian government.
The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development Mark Green, toured Abaco and Great Bahama islands. He said parts look as if a nuclear bomb had gone off.
"We recognize that there's a long road ahead but we're going to work closely with the prime minister and his government to make sure that we help provide immediate relief," Green said Sunday.
The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard are bringing in what is needed most -- food, water sanitation, and emergency shelter. Relief has also poured in from the United Nations, Red Cross, British naval ships, and private cruise lines.
The current death toll on the Bahamas is 43. But officials say thousands are missing and that the number of fatalities is certain to keep climbing.
Many on Abaco lost everything – their homes, their possessions, and any way to make a living. The number of homeless is estimated to be 70,000.
Dorian was the strongest storm ever to strike the Bahamas, hitting as a Category 5 with massive amounts of rain and wind gusts as high as 320 kilometers per hour.
Conditions in the atmosphere above the storm kept it parked over the islands for almost two days last week, making it an especially destructive storm.
Dorian also lashed the Carolinas on the U.S. East Coast, destroying homes, flooding beach resorts, and spawning more than 20 tornadoes that caused further damage.