At least 50 people have died in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian ripped through the island nation, NBC News reported on Monday, citing Health Minister Duane Sands.
42 bodies were found thus far on Abaco, while eight were recovered on Grand Bahama, NBC said, citing the commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Thousands of people remain missing as search efforts continue, NBC said.
The death toll is expected to rise and "could be staggering," Duane Sands, the Bahamas Minister of Health, told the New York Times on Thursday.
"We are embalming bodies so that we have more capacity as new bodies are brought in," he said. "We need to get coolers into Abaco and Grand Bahama, because we believe that we may not have the capacity to store the bodies."
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis confirmed the first five deaths at a press conference last week, citing the Bahamas Royal Police Force. He did not give any details about the victims.
"We are in the midst of a historic tragedy," he said, according to The New York Times. "Our focus is search, rescue and recovery. I ask for your prayers for those in affected areas and for our first responders."
The first victim was reported last Sunday, with a woman telling local media that her 8-year-old grandson had died.
Ingrid McIntosh told the local EyeWitness News channel that her grandson, who was in the Abaco Islands, likely drowned.
"I'd just seen my grandson about two days ago, and my grandson told me he loved me," McIntosh said.
—Bahamas Press (@Bahamaspress) September 2, 2019
The boy's mother found his body while searching for her daughter — the boy's sister — who had gone missing in the hurricane, McIntosh said. The daughter remains missing.
McIntosh did not name her grandson, but The Bahamas Press reported his name to be Lachino McIntosh. The Bahamas Press reported his age to be seven, rather than eight. Officials have yet to confirm the boy's death.
The Abaco Islands were worst-hit, with the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) observing a storm surge of 18 to 23 feet over normal tide levels in some areas of the island.
Photos and videos taken there also showed floodwater appearing to reach the second story of some residential buildings. Boats were also overturned, and debris scattered across the ground.
Read More: Before-and-after images show how Hurricane Dorian's storm surge put a Bahamas airport underwater.
Minnis said last week that a part of Grand Bahama was "under three feet of water, including the ground floor of its hospital and the prime minister's office," according to The Times.
"Many homes, businesses and other buildings [in the country] have been completed or partially destroyed," he added.
—Josh Benson (@WFLAJosh) September 1, 2019
After largely sparing Florida, Dorian was downgraded to Category 1 and made landfall Friday morning on Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
The National Hurricane Service gave its last advisory on Dorian on Sunday night at 11 p.m. ET and said the storm was now considered "post-tropical" and had moved out over the Labrador Sea away from Atlantic Canada. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
One person has died in North Carolina: Gov. Roy Cooper told reporters on Wednesday that an 85-year-old man fell from a ladder and died while preparing for the storm in Columbus County.
Rosie Perper contributed to this report.
