During the first week of September, Hurricane Dorian made its way through a chunk of the Atlantic coast leaving millions of citizens in need of aid, support, and safety.

On Sunday, Sept. 1st, Dorian struck the northern Bahamas with winds exceeding 220 mph making the category five storm the strongest Atlantic hurricane to hit the archipelago nation. This threatening storm swept over the Bahamas for about 48 hours leaving thousands of houses destroyed and over 13,000 without a clean supply of drinking water. Prime Minister Hubert Minis declared at least 43 casualties.

 The storm made its way into Palm Beach the next day. Fortunately, about 244,000 were able to flee the coastal area of Florida courtesy of a mandatory evacuation. There was also a cruise ship sent out from the Bahamas to help evacuate over 1,500 people from the Grand Bahama Island. The storm’s damage was so critical that it led to the destruction of over 60% of homes in Abaco and Grand Bahama.

 After the evacuation of Palm Beach, the community managed to help many hospitals and nursing homes find safety. Approximately 3,000 people were placed in shelters. The National Hurricane Center sent out a warning informing all areas from central Florida to North Carolina that they were in danger of hurricane destruction and life endangerment.

 On Thursday, Dorian produced a tornado that struck North Carolina. There were over 240,000 power outages throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia that day. Throughout this time the winds started to fade, fluctuating around 80 mph. Flooding became the state’s main concern as there were 40 inches of rain in some areas.

While Dorian’s main target was the US. coast, it managed to strike part of the Canadian Maritime Provinces. On Saturday night the storm headed straight for Nova Scotia. Winds accelerated up to 100 mph making Dorian a post-tropical cyclone. Around 50,000 people experienced power outages in that area.

 This event has left citizens devastated. The death toll is expected to rise as there are hundreds of people missing. Currently, there are volunteers with dogs searching for people trapped under debris. Anyone can donate to the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation to aid in the recovery of demolished communities.