A tropical storm on Sunday carrying heavy rain and strong winds already devasted the Bahamas that threatened to complicate Hurricane Dorian recovery efforts as the UN secretary-general arrived in the islands in a show of support.
Tropical storm Humberto has been slowly moving away from the Bahamas islands towards the north-northwest with maximum sustained winds of 80.5 kph and is expected to develop into a hurricane by Monday morning, though away from land, Efe news reported.
Humberto is also forecast to steer clear of the US coastline, although it is set to heavily impact maritime transit by causing stormy seas.
In the face of the tropical storm alert, food distribution in Grand Bahama was reduced and a spokesperson for the UN World Food Program said that all commutes to Marsh Harbor in Great Abaco had been suspended.
The Bahamas’ government advised residents to move to shelters, as the aid had been delayed.
Earlier this month, Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas as a Category-5 storm — one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record to hit land — packing top sustained winds of 298 km/h. It killed 50 people and as the clean-up operation continues, the death toll is expected to rise.
On Thursday, the US announced $4 million in new humanitarian assistance for the Bahamas. The US Agency for International Development said the money would go towards providing shelter, food, medicine and water to those on the two worst-hit islands.
More than 5,000 people have been evacuated from those islands to New Providence, where the country’s capital Nassau is located.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the hurricane-stricken Bahamas islands on Friday and said that natural disasters like these are becoming more intense and frequent due to the global climate crisis.
Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis earlier said, “We are in the midst of a historic tragedy … the devastation is unprecedented and extensive”.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency, there were 2,078 people temporarily lodged in shelters on the island of New Providence – where the country’s capital, Nassau, is located – while there are 71 on Grand Bahama and two on Great Abaco.
Around 90 per cent of the water supply has been restored in the south of Great Abaco, but the supply only reached 40 per cent of households in the northern part of the island.
Around 90 per cent of the water supply has been restored in the south of Great Abaco, but the supply only reached 40 per cent of households in the northern part of the island.