4 Ways USAID is Responding to Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas
On September 1, Hurricane Dorian made landfall on the Bahamas as the strongest storm to ever hit the country, and the second strongest Atlantic storm on record. The Category 5 storm produced sustained winds of 180 mph, along with torrential rains and storm surges that submerged the Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama.
Here are 4 ways that USAID helped communities in the Bahamas affected by Hurricane Dorian:
1. Deployed a USAID Disaster Team
On September 2, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to The Bahamas to respond to Hurricane Dorian. For five weeks, the DART led and coordinated U.S. response efforts, conducted damage assessments, identified priority needs, and worked closely with local authorities and humanitarian organizations to provide assistance to people in need.
At its peak, this elite team comprised 106 USAID disaster experts, including logisticians and experts in emergency shelter, as well as search and rescue personnel.
2. Sent Search and Rescue Teams
On September 4, 57 search-and-rescue experts and four dogs from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue deployed to the Bahamas to join the USAID DART. The team deployed with 50,000 pounds of medical equipment and specialized tools — including inflatable boats, life vests, water rescue equipment, listening devices, and search cameras. During its ten-day deployment, the team searched more than 1,000 houses and buildings and assessed structural damage to these buildings — including schools, health clinics, police and fire stations, and stores — as well as bridges, to determine whether they were safe for return.
3. Providing Relief Supplies by Air & by Sea
After conducting assessments of damaged areas, the DART identified shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene as critical priorities. In total, USAID transported 53 metric tons of critical relief supplies from its emergency warehouse in Miami to The Bahamas, including:
700 rolls of heavy-duty plastic sheeting to meet urgent shelter needs
4,400 buckets and water containers to provide safe drinking water
1,600 hygiene kits to help prevent the spread of disease
4 10,000-liter water bladders
4 kits to help remove debris, including chainsaws, axes, and other tools
These supplies were transported via commercial airlift, a flight donated by the United Parcel Service (UPS), and five U.S. Coast Guard ships, which carried 250 rolls of USAID plastic sheeting to provide emergency shelter for affected communities.
Altogether, the relief supplies provided by USAID will help an estimated 54,000 people impacted by the hurricane. Our DART coordinated with the Bahamas’s National Emergency Management Agency to distribute the relief items to people who need them.
4. Working with Humanitarian Partners
The U.S. Government has provided nearly $34 million in humanitarian assistance to help people affected by Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas. This includes funding to the Bahamas Red Cross to provide household items — like hygiene kits, portable stoves, towels, sheets, and blankets — to people who lost everything. This also included vital support to partners to provide emergency food, shelter, health, water, sanitation, and hygiene, and other assistance.
The United States stands by everyone affected by this disaster, and will continue our work to save lives, alleviate suffering, and help people recover.
Read more about USAID’s humanitarian response to Hurricane Dorian. For ways to help people affected by the disaster, visit USAID’s Center for International Disaster Information.
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