Floridians Collect Supplies to Send to Bahamas After Dorian

Community members in Lake Park, Florida, started to collect supplies on Wednesday, September 4, to send to people in the Bahamas who were negatively impacted by Hurricane Dorian. They said their drive would continue for two weeks.

Dorian hit the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm, killing at least seven people and forcing hundreds into shelters, according to a Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency report.

The report said the Abaco Islands shantytown called the Mudd was “completely destroyed” and that 60 percent of the homes in the town of Marsh Harbour were damaged.

This video, posted on Sandra Effertz’s photography Instagram, shows piles of supplies at the Kelsey Theater in Lake Park.

Effertz said the donation drive was organized by Lake Park Mayor Michael O’Rourke in partnership with the Bahamian government and Tropical Shipping.

Supplies collected Wednesday included bottled water, paper towels, food, cleaning supplies, diapers, and more. Effertz said the theater would be a drop-off location for supplies throughout the next two weeks.

As of 5 pm on Wednesday, Hurricane Dorian was moving at 8 mph and was about 150 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. The Category 2 storm had sustained winds of up to 110 mph. Credit: Sandra Effertz Photography via Storyful