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(CNN) - An estimated 2,500 people are missing in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian made landfall almost two weeks ago, the government said.
Dorian razed houses after making landfall on September 1, killing at least 50 people, authorities said. The death toll is expected to increase as search and rescue teams roam the ruins of the Grand Bahama and Abaco Islands.
The list is preliminary and all names have not been confirmed against government records and evacuees, said Carl Smith of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency.
- An oil spill in the Bahamas may have spread to open water after Dorian
The Government urged people to continue reporting missing persons through the hotline or by visiting the social services office, which is in charge of registering missing persons.
"As we can cross-reference our data sets, we can inform family members and reunite survivors with their loved ones," he said.
Hurricane Dorian swept the islands as category 5, the strongest hurricane ever to land in the Bahamas.
- Hurricane Dorian left approximately 17% of Bahamians homeless, and finding shelter will not be easy.
The first sweep of the affected northern islands, where some 70,000 people have lost almost everything, has been completed, including at least a first check for anyone who needs rescue, food or water and an assessment of damage and sanitation needs, said Daniel Gajewski of Fairfax County, the Virginia urban search and rescue team.
"Lately there have been many recognitions, many construction structures, and from there we are receiving a pulse on the premises," said Gajewski, who was deployed through the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID.
The Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hubert Minnis, said the government is working to establish temporary housing for those who lost their homes, adding that he visited shelters in New Providence that offer temporary housing to evacuees of Abaco and Grand Bahama. He warned against the recirculation of “false information” that was spreading the discord in the community.
Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian
