WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A weakened Hurricane Dorian brought rain and strong winds along the North Carolina coast early Friday after devastating the Bahamas, where the official death toll rose to 30.
The Caribbean country's government said the death toll is feared to rise, and will be 'staggering.'
'The public needs to prepare for unimaginable information about the death toll and the human suffering,' Health Minister Duane Sands told local media.
Grand Bahama and the Abacos Islands were the worst hit, and reports say most of those regions are virtually uninhabitable without water, power or food and dead bodies scattered. Adding salt to the wound, looting also has been reported in the tragedy-stricken islands.
Dorian, which was downgraded to Category 2 storm, is hitting South Carolina and North Carolina.
Coastal flooding is expected from the storm packing 110 mph winds. 'It is still a very dangerous and unpredictable storm,' said Gen. Joseph Lengyel, the chief of the National Guard Bureau.
More than 8,000 Army and Air National Guardsmen have been called for rescue operations by the governors of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Dorian's projected tracks show it is headed to southern and eastern Virginia, the Delmarva Peninsula and Southeast Massachusetts.
National Weather Service said that Dorian continues to move northeastward up the Southeastern coastline. By Saturday, portions of New England may be impacted as the center of Dorian passes well offshore, and then across Nova Scotia late Saturday, the forecast says.
In the meantime, minor to moderate coastal flooding from the storm surge and damaging winds will continue to move into the southern Mid-Atlantic. Brief tornadoes in eastern North Carolina can also be expected, according to the US weather agency.
National Hurricane Center said in an advisory that a few tornadoes are possible Friday morning across eastern North Carolina into southeastern Virginia.
3 to 8 inches of rain is expected in northeastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia.
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