latest. we re really starting to see the first glimmer of hope. that s because relief agencies and rescue efforts have gotten a foothold in those hard hit areas. taking choppers over to abaco island sets up camp there. that is where crews will use it as a base where they re going to be searching door to door through the rubble to make sure no one is left behind in those hard hit areas. coast guard choppers, they re going to be rescuing the critically injured bringing them here where they can receive medical care from doctors and hospitals. hundreds if not thousands are trying to leave the island of abaco and grand bahama. we know 1100 people were taken to florida from grand bahama, where they can start the long process of recovering. the death toll sits at 43. that number expected to go
we haven t seen destruction like that than the puerto rico hurricane. is it more accessible here? less terrain to get to these people? reporter: that accessibility will be a major factor going forward. we know as the rescue crews had been able to go in and get the most critically injured here to nassau where they can get treatment. the relief effort having struggles strictly because of the sheer devastation that happened on greater abaco island where we visited yesterday. marsh harbour where dorian made landfall. we saw the power of that first-ha first-hand. we do know we were able to land at the airport after it had been underwater for days. relief efforts are still having some struggles getting to the harder hit areas. i had a chance to speak to the minister of health who reassured me relief agencies were joining
people we spoke to, the growing frustration. but also, just hopelessness because they feel forgotten in some of those places that haven t had a chance to get some of those supplies. we are at the airport, a kind of staging area for a lot of relief agencies to go there to help out. the prime minster said it best with so much square footage affected by the hurricane, not to mention the accessibility factor it s dire straits for a lot of people still in the northern bahamas that were just ravaged by dorian. morgan? you mentioned the dehydration, but also the ho hopele hopelessness. something we are continuing to think about, our friends there in the bahamas. thanks so much for being there. joining me now on the phone from the bahamas, minute per role, a member of the parliament. thanks for being with us this afternoon. give us a sense from the government perspective, what s the status of the search and rescue operations? first of all, i want to say
how important the tourism industry is for especially this part of the bahamas. i mean, what do you think this storm means for the tourism industry? well, let me put it to you this way. the tourism industry in the bahamas is definitely going to take a hit in the short term. i can assure you of one thing, right. bahamians are strong, resourceful, and resilient. i would be remiss if i didn t pause for a second and pay tribute to the prime minister, whose quiet, methodical, and firm grip on the relief agencies in the bahamas, the mess would have been much greater than it is. we have teams up there now, helicopters are going in and so forth. because the airports are unusable, i m trying to get up there myself with some of my directors tomorrow, and i m told that the freeport international airport still has several feet of water on it. we re considering the other option of going into west end
and perhaps driving, if it s safe, the long road from west end to freeport. but it s been an absolute mess. and you know, the other silver lining, if i can use that expression, is that bahamians, we stick together by and large. there are hordes of people in nassau plus the jose andreas outfit with atlantis who are agitating to come up here as soon as we can get airport facilities operational. plus, there are other local groups like obviously our red cross, our the private relief agencies, and even private business people. for example, my wife, who s a chef and restaurateur, is clamoring to go up and help with feeding people. i mean, you ve got people whose