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Relief efforts stepped up amid staggering Hurricane Dorian death toll

Relief efforts stepped up amid staggering Hurricane Dorian death toll

Humanitarian and disaster relief efforts are underway (Picture: AP; Royal Navy) Naval ships carryin..

adminSeptember 7, 2019 9:40 am

relief effort for hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, Caribbean

Humanitarian and disaster relief efforts are underway (Picture: AP; Royal Navy)

Naval ships carrying supplies, military serviceman deployed to contain looting, and flotillas of volunteers are pulling together to help survivors of Hurricane Dorian.

Cruise liners have joined the relief effort, bringing thousands of meals and other donations to Caribbean islands devastated by the category 5 storm.

It comes as The United Nations estimates 70,000 people are in immediate need of food, water and shelter in the region.

The public have been warned to expect a staggering death toll as residents searched for loved ones.

Meanwhile there have been reports of widespread looting on the islands as thieves take advantage of the ensuing chaos.

Cruise liners including Royal Caribbeans Empress of the Seas said it was delivering 10,000 meals of chicken, rice and fruit to Grand Bahama.

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL - Royal Caribbean welcomes Grand Bahama evacuees aboard Empress of the Seas, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019 in Freeport, The Bahamas. (James McEntee/AP Images for Royal Caribbean International)

Royal Caribbean has been welcoming Grand Bahama evacuees aboard Empress of the Seas (Picture AP)

The Netherlands ambassador to the UN announced two naval ships with supplies have been dispatched from St Maarten, a Dutch island about 1,100 miles southeast of the Bahamas.

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Jamaica is sending an 150-strong military team to help secure Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line confirmed it would transport first responders, medics and journalists to Freeport and return to Florida with Bahamians who have documents to enter the US.

Francisco Sanchez, a sales representative for the cruise line said: Its a humanitarian trip. Were also taking donations that have arrived in the port (in Palm Beach).

epa07819340 A handout picture provided by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) showing an ariel image of damage caused by Hurricane Dorian to the island Great Abaco, Bahamas, 03 September 2019, issued 05 September 2019. The island was one of the first to get hit by Hurricane Dorian after she turned in to a category 5 hurricane. The British Navy Royal Fleet Auxilary RFA Mounts is embarked with a Wildcat helicopter that has been conducting reconnaissance flights over the islands to assess the damage and provide important intelligence to The Bahamian government and the team of DFID experts who have deployed to the region. RFA Mounts Bay is equipped with a dedicated Humanitarian and Disaster Relief team made up of personnel from the Royal Engineers and Royal Logistic Corps team and is carrying vital aid and specialist equipment, such as all-terrain quads, dump trucks, diggers and stores. The ship is also able to provide essential medical care. EPA/LPhot Paul Halliwell / BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/HANDOUT MANDATORY CREDIT: MOD/CROWN COPYRIGHT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Damage caused by Hurricane Dorian to the island Great Abaco. The island was one of the first to get hit by Dorian after she turned in to a category 5 hurricane. (Picture: EPA)

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL - The Royal Caribbean "Go Team," employee volunteers trained for emergency response, delivers cases of water from the ship to the shore in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019 in Freeport, The Bahamas. (James McEntee/AP Images for Royal Caribbean International)

Royal Caribbean employee volunteers trained for emergency response, delivers cases of water from the ship to the shore in Freeport (Picture: AP)

epa07821777 A handout picture provided by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) showing damage caused by Hurricane Dorian to the island Great Abaco, Bahamas, 04 September 2019, issued 06 September 2019. The island was one of the first to get hit by Hurricane Dorian after she turned in to a category 5 hurricane. The British Navy Royal Fleet Auxilary RFA Mounts is embarked with a Wildcat helicopter that has been conducting reconnaissance flights over the islands to assess the damage and provide important intelligence to The Bahamian government and the team of DFID experts who have deployed to the region. RFA Mounts Bay is equipped with a dedicated Humanitarian and Disaster Relief team made up of personnel from the Royal Engineers and Royal Logistic Corps team and is carrying vital aid and specialist equipment, such as all-terrain quads, dump trucks, diggers and stores. The ship is also able to provide essential medical care. EPA/LPhot Paul Halliwell / BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/HANDOUT MANDATORY CREDIT: MOD/CROWN COPYRIGHT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

The Bahamas has been ravaged by the hurricane, which is expected to lead to a staggering death toll (Picture: EPA)

The UN World Food Programme has allocated about £4.4million to a three-month emergency operation to support 39,000 people and a flight from the US Agency for International Development landed arrived with supplies, including hygiene kits, water containers and buckets, plastic sheeting and chainsaws, to help 31,500 people.

Estimates put the financial cost of the damage in the Bahamas at £5.7billion, including buildings and business interruptions.

One survivor on the Abaco Islands, Ramond King, said he watched as winds ripped the roof off his house then pluck his neighbours home into the sky.

He said: This cant be real, this cant be real.

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL - More than 200 food and beverage crew on Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas work as one, to pack 10,000 individual meals as part of their relief efforts on Grand Bahama, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019 in Freeport, The Bahamas. (James McEntee/AP Images for Royal Caribbean International)

More than 200 members of staff aboard Royal Caribbeans Empress of the Seas pack 10,000 individual meals as part of their relief efforts on Grand Bahama (Picture: AP)

Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR) teams, from RFA Mounts Bay, are seen here delivering aid to the Island of Great Abaco ion the Bahamas. The ship has distributed Department for International Development (DFID) relief items, including vital shelter kits. A rigid-hulled inflatable boat was deployed from RFA Mounts Bay this afternoon (04/09) with a dedicated Humanitarian and Disaster Relief team to join up with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and unload vital aid to some of those who have been worst hit by the category five storm. The ship has been in the Caribb<a href=https://metro.co.uk/2019/09/06/relief-efforts-stepped-up-amid-staggering-hurricane-dorian-death-toll-10700295/>Read More – Source</a></p> </body></html>

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