NEMA: 346 people missing post-Dorian

NEMA: 346 people missing post-Dorian
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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – There are 346 people missing two months after the passage of Hurricane Dorian, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The agency listed the number of missing people in a situation report, dated November 1.

Officials have not confirmed the number of missing people to the press since early October, and it is not listed in NEMA’s weekly stats update.

At the time, National Security Minister Marvin Dames confirmed the number stood at 282 – with at least 30 persons missing in Grand Bahama and 252 in Abaco.

Dames has explained an official report must come from police in order for the Coroner’s Court to issue a death certificate.

The NEMA situation report outlined critical resource needs as the “distribution of: water, food, clothing, hygiene, sheltering, construction materials and medical supplies”.

The report also outlined priorities post-storm.

Priorities include: “management of displaced persons (shelter and longer-term housing); search and rescue/recovery; food and water distribution – including increasing need for shelters on Nassau; messaging; life safety; security for citizens and teams on the ground; transportation and fuel (high-wheeled, 4×4, flat-beds); logistics management – inventory and distribution of goods received”.

Hurricane Dorian, the strongest storm to hit the Northwest Bahamas, devastated parts of Abaco and Grand Bahama, with maximum sustained winds at 185 mph and storm surges 18 to 23 feet above normal tide levels.

Following the storm, thousands of people were evacuated from the storm-ravaged areas, and many landed in shelters throughout New Providence.

As of Friday, there were 761 people living in five shelters in New Providence: the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium and three tents, and the Bahamas Academy Gymnasium.

The Department of Social Services has distributed $100 emergency food coupons to 3,146 people as of October 31, the report stated.