First Hurricane Dorian Death Reported as 7-Year-Old Bahamian Boy Drowns

A 7-year-old boy is the first reported fatality from Hurricane Dorian after the Category 5 storm made landfall at Great Abaco Island on Sunday. According to The Bahama Press, Lachino Mcintosh drowned as his family attempted to flee their ravaged home on Abaco island. His sister is said to be among the dozens missing.

Speaking to Eye Witness News, the boy’s grandmother explained that her daughter found McItosh’s body.

“I just saw my grandson about two days ago,” she said. “He told me he loved me. He was going back to Abaco, he turned around and said, ‘Grandma, I love you.’”

The death has not yet been confirmed by Bahamian authorities.

Dorian, the second strongest storm ever observed in the Atlantic Ocean and the strongest storm to ever make landfall in the Bahamas, made landfall Sunday afternoon on the southern end of the Bahamas’ Elbow Cay, which runs along the east coast of Great Abaco.

Bringing with it sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts reaching speeds of 220 mph and all but stalling over the island, the effects have been devastating. Thousands of structures, including homes, have been destroyed, with videos surfacing online showing heavy rains, high storm surges, and obliterated buildings.

According to The Bahama Press, an outlet with crews on the ground, the death toll is expected to rise.

“The place is a disaster, no business is operable and bodies are floating around Big Cat,” they reported. “The concern is nobody knows how many people died, and they feel when the water subsides some bodies will be washed out to sea.”

Moving slowly westward, the exact path that Dorian will take remains unclear, though residents along the east coast have been warned to brace for landfall. It is expected that the storm will skirt along the east coast and remain a catastrophic storm. In anticipation of Dorian, more than a dozen counties across three states are under mandatory evacuation orders, with nearly a dozen more counties under voluntary evacuation.