Search for victims continues a week after Hurricane Dorian
Freeport, Bahamas — Ready for the worst, teams on Abaco Island are searching through rubble a week after Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas. The official death toll is 45, but that number is expected to skyrocket.
On Grand Bahama, Nicole Pinder watched closely as crews from Miami searched for the missing. As the days go on, she said the likelihood of success is slipping away.
Seven of Pinder's relatives who rode out the storm in a seaside house, including 6-year-old Omarion Munnings, are now missing.
On Monday, rescue crews found nothing in the flattened house. Bahamian officials said the total number of the missing may be unknown for weeks.
Teams have been working through a flattened landscape, searching remote areas not reached since Dorian hit a week ago. The mounting anxiety is evident on social media, with people hopeful for any news on their loved ones. One post reads, "If u see Veto tell him contact his mom."
The U.N. said the storm left more than 70,000 homeless. Many Bahamians say faith is all that's getting them by.
It would seem time is working against hope. This country is receiving assistance in search and recovery from the U.S., U.K., Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. But the harsh reality is human remains decompose quickly at sea so many may remain missing forever.