SOME 2,500 people are unaccounted for in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian, said the archipelago’s National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) yesterday.

Nema spokesman Carl Smith told reporters that some of the missing people may eventually be located.

“At this point, there are approximately 2,500 individuals on the Bahamian government’s register (of missing people).

“This list has not yet been checked against government records of who is staying at shelters or who have been evacuated.

“Some individuals who have been evacuated from Abaco and Grand Bahama have not yet registered with social services.

“As we are able to cross-reference our data sets, we will be able to inform family members and reunite survivors with loved ones.”

At least 50 people died in the hurricane, which slammed into northern Bahamas as a Category 5 storm, and officials have said they expect the number to rise significantly.

“We’re not going to speculate on what the final numbers will be,” said Smith.

“We understand that people are concerned, and so are we.”

He said more than 5,500 people have been evacuated from the northern Bahamas islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, which were devastated by the storm.

Over the past day or so, he said, there had been a “significant reduction” in the number of people seeking to leave.

He added that permission is being given to resume commercial flights to Abaco on a “limited basis”, and priority will be granted to relief and evacuation flights.

He said Abaco’s power grid suffered extensive damage.

“The Marsh Harbour power station is completely destroyed,” he said of the largest town on the island of more than 15,000 people.

An official with Bahamas Power and Light Ltd said electricity to the south of Abaco could be restored in about three weeks, but it may be a few months before the rest of the island gets power. – AFP, September 12, 2019.