Rescues Under Way after Dorian Devastates the Bahamas; Harrowing Accounts of Surviving Dorian in the Bahamas
KEILAR: In the Bahamas, emergency crews are carrying out rescue operations across the hardest-hit areas. And the U.S. Coast Guard has reported that they have rescued 135 people and six pets since Hurricane Dorian began. Even though the weather has improved, the conditions there remain treacherous. The death toll from Dorian now stands at 20, but that number is expected to rise. As the catastrophic devastation comes into sharper focus, the prime minister said Abaco and Grand Bahama had suffered, quote, "generational damage." Latrae Rahming is joining us from Nassau. He served as the press secretary to former Bahamas prime minister, Perry Christie. Latrae, we've been seeing these pictures, it is awful. We've been hearing the stories, they are heartbreaking. Earlier today, you tweeted that there are bureaucratic problems that are hindering aid. Tell us about that. What do you mean?</s>LATRAE RAHMING, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO FORMER BAHAMAS PRIME MINISTER PERRY CHRISTIE: Thank you for having me. The challenge now in any natural disaster is to process what has happened. I think the government must make a determination to ensure that we can reach the people quickly. I think the challenge we have experienced of the national emergency agencies are awesome. We have to boost that staff in a crisis like this.</s>KEILAR: So you feel like they're understaffed. Do you believe that they are not responding as quickly as they could? And if that's the case --</s>KEILAR: Sorry.</s>RAHMING: No, I don't think -- when I said that they were understaffed, I think they have historically been understaffed. No one anticipated that this issue would be unprecedented like it is today. I do believe that there are some structural issues in the Bahamas because of our geographic nature that makes it very difficult to respond to a crisis like this. Currently now, the airports are opening up. You may be able to see the kind of response that can be organized because, prior to that, there was only helicopters being able to bring relief to designated impacted areas.</s>KEILAR: So what do you need from people who want to help and also from the United States where -- I mean obviously the Coast Guard is involved and the government here stands ready to provide aid to the Bahamas. What do you think the Bahamas needs?</s>RAHMING: I think there's a dire need. To be quite frank, the situation in the Bahamas is dire. The circumstances are deteriorating day by day. There must be a national -- there should be a global appeal to those who can help to help, whether it's medical necessities. Of course, the concern is rising that casualties as well as those who were impacted medically. So there's a need to bring attention to the medical concerns of persons. If you can and people have the capacity to donate, I think that they should. I'm urging that they do because the situation is historic. I've been dealing with hurricanes for the last three years and I've never seen something like this, of this magnitude.</s>KEILAR: No, it is unbelievable what we are witnessing in the Bahamas. Latrae Rahming, thank you for joining us.</s>RAHMING: No problem. Thanks so much.</s>KEILAR: As the humanitarian crisis unfolds, we're hearing from more survivors who are describing the damage around them as apocalyptic.</s>JOY JIBRILU, DIRECTOR GENERAL, BAHAMAS TOURISM MINISTRY (voice-over): People of both Abaco and Grand Bahama who have lost everything. I mean, when we say everything, it is actually hard to comprehend.</s>SHERRIE ROBERTS, SURVIVED HURRICANE DORIAN ON ABACO ISLANDS: Words can't describe it. I don't wish it on nobody. Nobody. Words can't describe it. They could never categorize this, never. It was like an atomic bomb went off.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother was clinging onto a tree. We are unable to locate his wife at the moment. We hope that she's OK.</s>SHARON ROLLE, BAHAMAS RESIDENT (voice-over): There's no neighborhood. There's nothing here. As the water dries up and the sun comes out, it's so unreal.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many, many people without homes, without basically anything but the clothes on their backs. Many with grave injuries living in and around this sort of government complex trying to figure out what's next.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a disaster, man. Everyone is homeless, man. Everyone is homeless. This was definitely the worst storm ever. It's history right here.</s>KELLIE MACKEY, BAHAMAS SURVIVOR (voice-over): I've never seen anything like this at all. And I pray to God we never experience something like this again.</s>KEILAR: And as if the pounding wind and rain was not enough, Hurricane Dorian is also spawning tornados that have ripped trees right out of the ground. We'll take you there, next.