More Than 30 Dead In Bahamas as Dorian Makes Landfall in North Carolina

Over 30 people have been confirmed dead in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian, which made landfall in North Carolina Friday morning.

Dorian hovered over the Bahamas beginning Sunday for over a day, causing catastrophic destruction to the islands. The death toll is expected to “rise dramatically,” Health Minister Duane Sands said according to NBC News.

“It is a horrendous challenge right now and the process of certification and confirmation certainly does not in any way relate to the findings in the field,” Sands said.

The final death toll will be “staggering,” he added.

Dorian hit the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane, destroying around 13,000 homes. Thousands have been listed as missing, NBC News reported.

“The prime minister has attempted to prepare the public for the ultimate confirmation and the expectation that this has been a devastating storm and loss of life and property,” Sands said.

Hurricane Dorian scraped Florida Tuesday before nearing Charleston, South Carolina Thursday. It made landfall Friday morning in North Carolina as a Category 1 storm, ABC News reported.

Over 330,000 homes and businesses were left without power in the Carolinas due to the storm, and North Carolina runs the risk of seeing flash flooding and storm surge.

Some locations in North Carolina could see up to 15 inches of rain, and storm surge may be as high as seven feet according to ABC News. South Carolina has been hit with over 10 inches of rain since Dorian made its way up the coast.

“Hurricane Dorian is ready to unleash its fury on our state,” Republican North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday.