The Aftermath Of Hurricane Dorian
CABRERA: It's a major humanitarian crisis just off the coast of the United States. Dozens of people confirmed dead in the aftermath of the category five hurricane that slammed into the Bahamas. That number almost certain to rise, because rescue and recovery crews are finding bodies this weekend. Finding them in the wreckage of homes and all that storm debris that now covers much of the Bahamas' northern islands. Officials set up these mobile mortuaries in the city of Marsh Harbour. Their purpose, to process human remains. CNN camera crews saw bodies brought into those mobile morgues today. Crowds of people from the devastated islands are trying to make it out, either to the Bahamian capital, Nassau, or to the U.S. In some places, there is literally nothing. No power. No shelter. No food. No drinking water. A cruise ship today arrived in Palm Beach, Florida carrying more than 1,400 evacuees from the Bahamas. The United Nations estimates about 70,000 people in the islands lost their homes. They're now homeless. Let's go live to Nassau and CNN's Paula Newton is there. Paula, the government says a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the days since this hurricane. What is causing people there the most anxiety?</s>PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The most anxiety now really is what happens next when they have nowhere to go. You just quoted it, 70,000 people homeless. When they say they're homeless, it's not like their homes are gone just for a few weeks. They have been obliterated. Those homes absolutely obliterated. And, on top of that, they are also going through a lot, in terms of just trying to get through the trauma of everything they've been through. And remember, Ana, we still do not know the true death toll from this disaster. I want you to listen now to William Davis talk to us about what it was like for him to ride out the storm in Marsh Harbour.</s>WILLIAM DAVIS: My son and a couple of my other employees were in that building. And the water just tore down the hole building. We had to jump out the back window. Some survived. Some didn't.</s>NEWTON: You know, he, then, told me that four people in the building next to him had lost their lives. Four people. I spoke to other people who had loved ones who had passed away. They hadn't reported that they were even missing. There are other people that I spoke to that had missing relatives and had no idea if they were dead or alive yet. Had no place to go, in terms of a central Web site or anything like that. You talked about those mobile mortuaries. We talked to three morticians today. They were hired by the government here to go there and handle the situation. Their quote to me, Ana, was that we haven't started our work yet. What does that mean? It means search and recovery, it's going very, very slowly. And, of course, it will be quite a challenge to even identify these people. And when we were at the port today, with all of that on their shoulders, that burden, people were trying to leave a place that was unlivable. I asked a woman, did she have enough food or water? She said, who can have food or water? I just want out of this place.</s>CABRERA: Wow. I think we're all bracing for the true depth of destruction and the final numbers, once we really learn how many people were killed are revealed. Paula Newton, thank you for your ongoing reporting there. You're working so hard and bringing us what is happening and what they need. If you want to find out how you can help the victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and here in the U.S., just head to CNN.com/impact. We have new CNN reporting that the president is privately expressing concerns about the economy, even as he boasts publicly everything is going great. We'll discuss why it is so important to his chances of re-election, next.