Bahamas Death Toll To Be 'Staggering' In Hurricane Aftermath

Bahamas Hurricane Dorian death toll will be 'staggering' with THOUSANDS still missing

• Government has deployed extra security to Bahamas northern islands amid reports of looting and violence 
• Corpses have piled up and officials have ordered in hundreds of body bags as death toll expected to climb
• Officials are now evacuating people to capital in Nassau but efforts are hampered by flooded airport runways 
• A massive international relief effort ramped up on Thursday in the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama 
• Dorian struck the Bahamas as a catastrophic Category 5 storm on Sunday unleashed 185mph winds and torrential rains on the island over the following two days 
• An unknown number of people were trapped in their homes for days waiting for help to arrive
• Half of the homes in the Bahamas were destroyed or severely damaged, racking up a total of $7billion in insured and uninsured property losses, according to a Thursday estimate 
• A UN humanitarian chief said around 70,000 people 'are in immediate need of life-saving assistance'   
• Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Dorian left 'generational devastation' across the Caribbean nation
• 'This is our Katrina moment,' Bahamian Health Minister Duane Sands said Thursday 

Bahamian officials have warned the Hurricane Dorian death toll could be 'staggering' with hundreds and possibly thousands still be missing from the Abaco and Grand Bahama northern islands. 

Up to 70,000 are in need of 'life-saving assistance' while militias have been formed to stop looting amid reports people are trying to shoot others to get food and water.  

While the official death toll stands at 30, that number is expected to rise today and hundreds of body bags have been ordered. There are reports of piles of corpses.  

A massive international relief effort was ramped up today as the extent of the damage wrought by Dorian came into focus. Satellite images have revealed the scale of devastation and harrowing accounts are emerging from survivors.

One broke down in tears as she revealed: 'Everything is gone, people are starting to panic. Pillaging, looting, trying to shoot people for food and water. It's just no way everyone's going to get out.' 

Officials are working to evacuate people to the capital in Nassau, but their efforts have been complicated by flooded runways at Grand Bahama International Airport.

Government officials have deployed extra security with witnesses seeing residents breaking into liquor stores and supermarkets, carrying off goods in bags or filling their vehicles.