Weather and Natural Disasters

Bahamas' count of missing people post-Dorian drops to 1,300

Key Points
  • The Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday had warned the larger figure could include people staying at shelters.
  • The official death count currently stands at 50, but Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis on Wednesday warned he expects that to significantly increase.
People recover items from a beached boat after Hurricane Dorian September 5, 2019, in Marsh Harbor, Great Abaco.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

The Bahamian government now believes there are 1,300 people missing after Hurricane Dorian plowed into the islands, a sharp decline from the 2,500 listed on the missing registry a day earlier, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

The Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday had warned the larger figure could include people staying at shelters.

"The number of people registered missing with the Bahamas government is going down daily," NEMA spokesman Carl Smith told a news conference.

The official death count currently stands at 50, but Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis on Wednesday warned he expects that to significantly increase.