70,000 in Bahamas in need of immediate aid: UN

In this aerial image courtesy of a US Coast Guard Elizabeth City C-130 aircraft crew, homes and piers in the Bahamas lie damaged on September 3, 2019, after Hurricane Dorian. – Dorian churned towards the United States Wednesday after leaving seven dead in the Bahamas, where the prime minister said terrified residents had endured “days of horror” at the hands of the monster storm. Announcing the updated death toll, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis warned the number would rise as he called Dorian “one of the greatest national crises in our country’s history.” (Photo by Adam Stanton / US Coast Guard / AFP) 

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Some 70,000 people are in need of immediate aid in the Bahamas, which were devastated by Hurricane Dorian, a top UN official said Wednesday, citing food, water, shelter and medicine.

The UN has released $1 million from its emergency fund to provide assistance to victims, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock told journalists during a phone call from Nassau.

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