1 week after Dorian struck, controversies erupt in Bahamas as death toll mounts

As Bahamian officials continue to sort through the widespread destruction left by Hurricane Dorian, confusion and uncertainty has been rampant during much of the initial recovery process.

While the official death toll has slowly ticked upwards, residents, reporters and officials recognize that the final number will be far more staggering than what is being currently reported. As of Monday, the official tally is at 50 fatalities. By eyewitness accounts, the total will be hundreds, if not thousands.

As some have questioned the government's truthfulness in the current death toll reports, Duane Sands, the Bahamas' minister of health, told the Miami Herald that calculating the fatality total isn't currently a higher priority than helping survivors get back on their feet.

A Bahamas coroners team carries a body out of The Mudd neighborhood in the Marsh Harbor area of Abaco, Bahamas, in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. Dorian, the most powerful hurricane in the northwestern Bahamas' recorded history, has killed at least 44 people in Bahamas as of Sunday, Sept. 8, according to the government. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

"I am actually a bit concerned that the focus has been for some people the body count," Sands told the Herald. "It is not the priority. The priority is find those people for their loved ones who are missing them ... To put food in people's bellies, water in their throat."

Sands added that officials have heard all the estimates and noted the large amount of missing people.

"We have to prepare for whatever inevitability and so whether it's 1,000, or 2,000, or 500 body bags, we need to have the ability to make sure that every single remain can be treated with dignity and managed appropriately," he said. "We are talking about a massive, multi-island operation."

On Friday, the financial services ministry of the Bahamas called the situation a "humanitarian crisis" in a statement. Assistance has trickled in from all over the world, as countries have pledged financial support.

Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, wrote on Twitter that the country is "extending an immediate disaster relief of $1 million."

The United States Coast Guard has been among the many government and private agencies working to help coordinate rescue and relief efforts on the islands. More than 300 people have been rescued by the Coast Guard since the rescue efforts began.

On Sunday, controversy arose when over 100 Bahamians were forced to disembark from a rescue ferry traveling to Florida. According to a video posted on social media by WSVN reporter Brian Estin, an announcement was made over the ferry's loudspeaker that any traveler without a visa would be forced to disembark.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) denied responsibility on Monday for the stranded hurricane victims.

"It breaks my heart because it's like when you raise somebody's hopes and then you pop the balloon," CBP Florida spokesman Michael Silva said. "It raised the expectations of these poor people who have been through an unimaginable situation with the hurricane."

According to Silva, the CBP of Florida is doing everything it can to support those who arrive to the state. In Entin's video posted on Twitter, a woman says she was originally told a visa and police record weren't needed to enter the U.S.

"I think this is terrible," the woman said. "Now they've taken that back and that's really ridiculous ... they said 130 people had to come off."

Hundreds of people at Abaco island's Marsh Harbour still await aid from boats and harbor their own hopes of leaving the area. Yachts and private boats were being used to help evacuate people, while Dorval Darlier, a Haitian diplomat, urged the crowd to let women, children and the sick be evacuated before men, according to The Associated Press.

Avery Parotti, a 19-year-old bartender, told the AP that her home was destroyed during the storm.

"There's nothing left here. There are no jobs," she said.

In the city of Freeport, an animal shelter saw about 270 cats and dogs killed during the storm, according to an employee at the Humane Society of Grand Bahama. Tip Burrows, the executive director of the Humane Society, told CGNT that they have never seen such destruction on the island.

"My heart is broken for the sheltered animals that we lost," Burrows said. "I feel so bad for the people who entrusted their animals to us and ultimately we couldn't protect them."

Elsewhere on the island of Grand Bahama, an oil spill triggered by Dorian spewed crude oil over the ground as heavy winds knocked the tops off of five storage tanks belonging to the Norwegian company Equinor ASA.

"According to the information we have right now, the roofs of five tanks are gone," the company said in a statement on Sunday. "We do not know if they are being carried away by the winds or fallen in the tanks."

There were no staff members on the grounds because the company shut down operations in advance of the storm. In the statement, Equinor added that the recovery efforts have been made more difficult by damage dealt to the infrastructure.

AccuWeather National Weather Reporter Jonathan Petramala was at the scene and said the black oil splattered around was a terrible contrast for an environment that was so beautiful before Dorian arrived.

Petramala spoke to a local guide named Cranston Mcdonald, who said the oil spill was something "I've never seen in the Bahamas."

"It takes it to another level of what the hurricane has done," Mcdonald said.

On Sunday, the company pledged to clean up any spilled oil and said that security personnel were at the company site identifying hazards.

The United Nations and other aid organizations have begun to respond to massive need for assistance. On Sunday, nearly 1.5 tons of supplies that will provide drinkable water arrived to islands, which UNICEF approximates will assist people for two weeks. Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, the UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasized the dire need for safe water in helping families who survived the storm now survive the recovery.

"Almost five days after the hurricane struck, safe drinking water is now the most urgent and valuable lifesaving item, especially for mothers and children," Abdel-Jelil told the U.N. "Damaged infrastructure makes the delivery of humanitarian aid extremely challenging. The most vulnerable families, especially children, are likely to be the hardest to reach."