Hurricane Dorian heads for South Carolina, leaving 20 killed in Bahamas

Alanbatnews - Hurricane Dorian, the strongest storm on record to hit the U.S. on Tuesday is now moving toward the Eastern Shore of the United States with 185 km/h, the U.S. National Hurricane Center announced Thursday.

At 3 pm GMT, Dorian brought life-threatening storm surges as it was 170 kilometers south of the coastal city of Charleston, South Carolina, and was advancing at about 11 kilometers per hour, the Center added.

In Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, the Ministry of Health announced that the temporary death toll of the cyclone reached 20 people, adding that search for survivors is still going on.

"The hurricane caused catastrophic destruction in the archipelago areas due to its high winds and slow pace of progress, which made the flooded areas sink and smashed parts of the tourism-dependent Bahamas to ruins" the ministry added.

Following the catastrophic destruction across the Bahamas, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said that around 70,000 people are in need of life-saving aid.