Thousands of people flee the Bahamas for hurricane "Dorian"

Thousands of people are trying to leave the island state after the hurricane disaster in the Bahamas. In Freeport alone, on Friday, thousands came to the harbor to grab a place aboard a cruise ship. The operating company offered those who had the necessary entry documents a free passage to Florida.

In addition, hundreds of people were taken aboard planes or boats to the state capital of Nassau from the worst affected disaster regions.

The hurricane had raged in the Bahamas for days, causing devastating damage. According to recent data, at least 43 people died. Health Minister Duane Sands told the Nassau Guardian that the final death toll would be "overwhelming." Hundreds, if not thousands of people are considered missing. In addition, thousands of inhabitants were homeless.

photo gallery

6 pictures

The rescue operations are slow because of catastrophic damage. The World Food Program (WFP) is currently preparing food deliveries. The agency has bought about seven tons of ready meals and is organizing transport to the Bahamas, said a spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

more on the subject

Nasa Satellite ImagesHurricane "Dorian" looks like this from the inside

The aid mission to the Bahamas will also involve 70 German marines. The men and women are currently heading for the Bahamas, said Friday from the Ministry of Defense in Berlin.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants of an island in the US state of North Carolina are cut off from the outside world. The state governor, Roy Cooper, said there was "serious concern about hundreds of people trapped on the island of Ocracoke. Salvage teams stand ready but could not reach Ocracoke until the storm clears, Cooper said. On pictures of the island were heavy flooding to see.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Also just under a hundred kilometers north of Ocracoke located island Nags Head was flooded

The hurricane crossed the Outer Banks archipelago on Friday morning. Nearly 1000 people live on the associated island of Ocracoke. At first it was not clear why they had not sought protection in the interior of the country before the arrival of the storm, as ordered by the authorities. In the coastal areas of North Carolina were about 200,000 households without electricity because of the storm.

"Dorian" hit the US East Coast as the hurricane one in five.