Hurricane Dorian's aftermath in the Bahamas

By Harmeet Kaur and Bianca Britton, CNN

Updated 5:41 p.m. ET, September 8, 2019
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3:31 p.m. ET, September 8, 2019

Our live coverage of Hurricane Dorian's devastation in the Bahamas has ended. Here's where things stand as of Sunday afternoon.

The death toll: At least 43 people are dead, and officials expect that number to rise dramatically as rescue efforts continue.

The displaced: More than 70,000 people are homeless on Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands, the parts of the Bahamas hardest hit by the hurricane.

The recovery: Search and recovery efforts in the Bahamas have been slowed down by ravaged infrastructure, after Dorian left behind piles of rubble and splintered homes.

The evacuees: A cruise ship brought nearly 1,500 hurricane survivors from the Bahamas to a port in Florida on Saturday. Evacuation efforts continued on Sunday with at least one charter flight bringing people from Marsh Harbour to Nassau.

Damage in Canada: Dorian is no longer a hurricane, but its heavy rains and powerful winds left hundreds of thousands of people without power as the storm made landfall near Nova Scotia on Saturday evening.

9:08 a.m. ET, September 8, 2019

More than 370,000 without power in Nova Scotia

As Hurricane Dorian continues to move along Canada's Maritime Provinces, nearly 380,000 homes are without power.

As at 8:20 a.m. ET Saturday, 378,735 customers were without power, according to Nova Scotia Power.

The company said in an update on Facebook that "the full picture of damage won’t be known until later today."

9:14 a.m. ET, September 8, 2019

Young Dorian survivor saw woman get swept away with baby

CNN's Victor Blackwell reports from Nassau, Bahamas, where he witnessed the devastation Hurricane Dorian brought down on the islands.

He spoke with some residents about the overwhelming effect the storm had on them, including one young survivor who witnessed the horrifying moment a woman was swept away with a baby.

"She was trying to go back in the house" to get something, he said. "But when the water hit her she was gone with the baby," he said.

"I haven't heard from a lot of my family members ... some of my cousins, aunts, a lot of people."

Watch the interview here:

5:59 a.m. ET, September 8, 2019

Man spends $49k at Costco to help the Bahamas

From CNN's Christina Zdanowicz

All 100 of these generators were purchased in Florida and are being shipped to the Bahamas.
All 100 of these generators were purchased in Florida and are being shipped to the Bahamas.

A man walked into a Costco in Florida and left with 100 generators, all of which are heading to the Bahamas.

His receipt read $49,285.70 and most of that came from paying $450 a pop for 100 generators. Peas, beans, coffee, salt, pepper and other essentials made up the rest of his mega purchase from a Costco in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday.

All of it is going to those in need on the hard-hit islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, he said.

The man wishes not to be named. He said he doesn't want the attention and would rather that people focus on helping those affected by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas.

It's important that we help each other out. It's better than just sitting there," he said. "You see a need and you fill it."

A photo of the anonymous donor was snapped by Alec Sprague, who was shopping at Costco at the time.

"I had to go up there to him and say, 'Thank you for doing this,'" Sprague said. "I am so glad to see someone doing this."

5:09 a.m. ET, September 8, 2019

Bahamians don't know how many bodies might be under rubble in Marsh Harbour

From CNN's Paula Newton in Marsh Harbour

One of the areas most affected by Hurricane Dorian's fury is known as the Mudd, a small town in Marsh Harbour in the northern Abaco Island.

There, concrete walls were smashed entirely and roofs were blown away, making it difficult to even locate one's own home. 

Local authorities are worried that many victims might be under rubble, but they can't determine how many. In addition, recovering these bodies, the government says, will be a difficult task. 

Most of the residents of the Mudd are Haitian migrants fleeing poverty and some of them are undocumented, who are too afraid to seek help in Nassau out of fear of deportation.

CNN's Paula Newton reports from Marsh Harbour:

3:53 a.m. ET, September 8, 2019

Rumors of cholera and other epidemics shot down by Bahamas Ministry of Health

From CNN Health’s Jacqueline Howard

Bahamians who lost everything in the devastating passage of Hurricane Dorian were scrambling Saturday to escape the worst-hit islands by sea or by air.
Bahamians who lost everything in the devastating passage of Hurricane Dorian were scrambling Saturday to escape the worst-hit islands by sea or by air. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

The Bahamas Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization said that there is “no quarantine, cholera or epidemics in the Bahamas," in a statement shared with CNN.

“Floods can potentially increase the transmission of water-borne and communicable diseases,” the statement said.

“Nevertheless, there have not been any detected cholera cases at the moment, nor any increased number of infectious diseases due to the hurricane. The Ministry of Health and PAHO recommends that the population in the affected areas drink and use safe water and also continue to practice good hygiene such as hand washing to prevent water-borne diseases.”

The ministry said it will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.

3:52 a.m. ET, September 8, 2019

Celebrity chef José Andrés feeds thousands in Bahamas

From CNN’s Sharif Paget in Atlanta

Celebrity chef José Andrés took to his official Twitter page Saturday from devastated Marsh Harbour in Abaco where he and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen (WCK) have fed thousands of survivors this week, and want to feed more.

Andrés tweeted that his organization had delivered 14,000 meals on Friday, at least 24,000 on Saturday and could deliver as many as 30,000 with additional helicopters. 

The renowned chef asked the US Coast Guard and USAID for any available helicopters, later going on to commend the US Coast Guard for their broader relief efforts in the area.

He tweeted overnight pictures from a primary school shelter in Marsh Harbour, adding: "I've met so many heroes here I lose count...we cannot let them down."

5:39 p.m. ET, September 7, 2019

Dorian is no longer a hurricane, but it remains dangerous

Dorian is now a post-tropical cyclone, according to the National Hurricane Center's latest advisory on Saturday evening ahead of an expected landfall in Canada.

Dorian lost its status as a hurricane is because it no longer has a warm core, CNN meteorologist Gene Norman explained, though it is still a low-pressure system.

But even though it's no longer classified as a hurricane, the storm is still dangerous with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph — the equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for parts of the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, the center said.

"While the change in classification is technical, the fact of the matter is it's still a dangerous situation and people in the area should not let their guard down," Norman said.

4:46 p.m. ET, September 7, 2019

Recovery teams are bringing in bodies to a makeshift mortuary

A makeshift mortuary has been set up in Marsh Harbour, one of the areas of the Bahamas hit hardest by Hurricane Dorian, according to CNN's Paula Newton.

Newton said she saw at least two bodies on a truck at the site. The morticians told her that their work has been slow because recovering bodies has proved to be a difficult task. Many bodies are submerged in water and require dive teams to recover them.

"We are still waiting to do our work," one of the morticians told Newton.

As CNN's Gary Tuchman toured devastated areas in the town on Friday, he said the smell of death lingered in the air.

Search and rescue personnel who arrived with cadaver dogs on the Abaco Islands, where Marsh Harbour is located, brought body bags and coolers to store human remains, said Joy Jibrilu, director general of the country's tourism and aviation ministry.

Workers also brought equipment to count the dead and to understand the scope of damage, Jibrilu said.