Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Death Toll and Disease Outbreaks Expected to Rise in Hurricane-Hit Bahamas

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - U.N. and international agencies are scaling up relief efforts
   as more areas in hurricane-battered islands of the Bahamas become
   accessible. The World Health Organization has sent three emergency
   medical teams to cope with growing health needs spawned by the recent
   onslaught of Hurricane Dorian.

   Two emergency medical teams arrived in the Bahamas Friday and a third
   is expected on Saturday. While life-saving search and rescue operations
   are ongoing, the World Health Organization is focusing on clinical care
   to save the lives of hurricane survivors.

   The manager of WHO's Emergency Medical Teams Initiative, Ian Norton,
   says the hospital in the Grand Bahama city of Freeport has been flooded
   with sewage-contaminated water and needs to be temporarily replaced
   with a field hospital. He says other clinics on the islands have been
   destroyed or damaged and will have to be replaced.

.