At the request of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the United States is providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance, including water, sanitation, hygiene, and shelter supplies to the people of The Bahamas impacted by Hurricane Dorian. This includes relief supplies from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) warehouse in Miami that arrived in The Bahamas last night, which will be distributed by the Government of The Bahamas' National Emergency Management Agency to people affected by the storm.

U.S. Coast Guard ships are also transporting plastic sheeting from USAID's emergency warehouse in Miami to The Bahamas.

The airlift and shipments are providing critical assistance to people affected by Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas, including emergency shelter materials for 35,000 people, and hygiene kits and water containers for approximately 3,000 people.

To support these efforts, a team from Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue (USAR)-deployed as part of USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)-arrived in The Bahamas late Wednesday night to conduct search and rescue missions and assess infrastructure damage on the impacted islands.

This team, comprising 57 search and rescue members and four canines, deployed with 50,000 pounds of medical equipment and specialized tools-including inflatable boats, life vests, water rescue equipment, listening devices, search cameras, saws, cutting tools, torches, and drills-to help facilitate search and rescue operations.

A second USAR team from the Los Angeles County Fire Department is on standby to deploy to The Bahamas, if needed.

Today, USAID is conducting preliminary damage assessments with Bahamnian government officials by plane and by boat in the northern island of Great Abaco, an area heavily impacted by Hurricane Dorian. USAID will continue to work with government officials in The Bahamas, U.S. Embassy Nassau, and humanitarian partners to identify priority needs-including food, water, shelter, sanitation, and hygiene-and to ensure aid reaches all affected communities.

Information on Donations from USAID:

• When disasters occur anywhere in the world, Americans generously offer assistance to those in need. Decades of experience in disaster relief and recovery have shown that the best way to help people affected by disaster is to make cash donations to reputable relief and charitable organizations on the ground. These groups work closely with affected communities and know what people need and how to strengthen recovery efforts.
• Cash donations are the most efficient form of assistance. Unlike material donations, cash involves no transportation costs, shipping delays, or customs fees. It also enables relief organizations to spend more time providing aid by spending less time managing goods.
• Cash donations also allow relief supplies to be purchased in markets close to the disaster site, which stimulates the local economy by providing employment and generating cash flow.
• For more information on how you can help, please go to the Center for International Disaster Information's website, www.cidi.org.