US: North Carolina faces 'long night' as Dorian's Bahamas toll rises

Hurricane watches have been issued in parts of Canada

BAHAMAS-WEATHER-HURRICANE A view of the damage left by Hurricane Dorian in Marsh Harbor, Great Abaco, Bahamas | AFP

30 people died and thousands were left homeless in the Bahamas owing to Hurricane Dorain. North Carolina braced for a 'long night' of winds and rain as the hurricane closed in on the coast on Thursday.

Authorities in the state of Florida, blamed six more deaths on the hurricane, though they occurred as the victims were preparing for the storm's arrival.

Authorities are sending morticians and 200 body bags to the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. According to the UN, 70,000 people in the Bahamas were in immediate need of aid.

US and British helicopters were seen conducting medical evacuations, aerial assessments to help coordinate relief efforts, and reconnaissance flights to assess the damage. 201 people had been rescued by the US Coast Guard with help of multiple helicopters and Coast Guard cutters.

The WFP is organizing an airlift from the UN hub in Panama of storage units, generators, and prefab offices for two logistics hubs to be established on the main islands, it said.

US weather forecasters have warned that in some areas of the Carolina coast, the storm could surge up to seven feet and the area could get between six and 12 inches of rain.

"We know we're in for a long night and we'll be eager to see the sunshine in the morning," North Carolina's Governor Roy Cooper said.
US President Donald Trump tweeted that he had spoken to the governors of North and South Carolina, telling them he is "ready to assist".

Monster storm Dorian has spawned several tornadoes but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

While many residents of coastal Carolina heeded evacuation orders, others battened down their homes with plywood and prepared to ride it out.

Streets in the historic downtown area of Charleston were mostly deserted. Several trees and traffic lights along with power lines were downed by the strong winds.

According to the North Carolina Climate office, the state is affected by an average of 2.27 storms each year. More than 200,000 residents and businesses in South Carolina were without power.

At 8 pm, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC), Dorian was located about 30 miles (50 km) south of Cape Fear in North Carolina, and moving up the coast in a northeast direction at 10 miles per hour (17 km per hour). NHC reported that it was a Category 2 storm packing winds of 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour), as the hurricane seemed to be weakening.

When the storm slammed into the Bahamas though, Dorian was a Category 5 hurricane — the highest on the five-level wind scale, leaving a trail of unimaginable destruction.

Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told CNN that at least 30 people were killed in the storm, which caused what he called "generational devastation." The death toll is expected to rise. The storm left in its wake overturned cars, fields of jumbled debris, homes reduced to matchsticks, widespread flooding and beached boats in the town of Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco. The complete extent of the damage is still unknown. 

Hurricane watches have been issued in parts of Canada, as that's where Dorian is likely to be headed next.