
Hurricane Dorian has killed at least five people and destroyed as many as 13,000 homes during its path of destruction through the Bahamas.

The catastrophic onslaught sent floodwaters up to the second floors of some buildings, trapped people in attics and led to others fleeing from one shelter to another.

Photos have captured just a glimpse of the devastation in the Bahamas. One image shows dozens of capsized boats at a harbor, while video shows stalled cars on flooded roads and completely destroyed homes.

One video shows Bahamians picking through debris as they try to salvage some of their belongings.

Dorian's relentless winds and rain battered homes and businesses on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, which have a combined population of about 70,000 and are no more than 40 feet above sea level at their highest points.

The Grand Bahama airport was said to be under 6 feet of water. The exact toll of the devastation in the Bahamas will not be clear until the storm passes and rescue crews can get on the ground. The storm hovered over the islands for almost 24 hours.

Bahamas prime minister Hubert Minnis said: 'We are in the midst of a historic tragedy. The devastation is unprecedented and extensive.'

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Hurricane Dorian has killed at least five people and destroyed as many as 13,000 homes during its path of destruction through the Bahamas. This photo shows dozens of damaged boats at the Marsh Harbour Boatyards in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas

This image is a before aerial of the Marsh Harbour Boatyards in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, before Hurricane Dorian struck

This photo taken by the US Coast Guard during a rescue operation shows floodwaters at the Leonard M. Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas

This satellite image shows the Leonard M. Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, before Hurricane Dorian hit the area

Coast Guard choppers are seen preparing to head out on rescue missions during a downpour from Hurricane Dorian. The Coast Guard airlifted at least 21 people who were injured on Abaco Island, which Dorian hit on Sunday with sustained winds of 185mph and gusts of up to 220mph

Coast Guard helicopter crews were deployed to the Marsh Harbour Clinic (pictured) where they medevaced 19 people from the hospital to the Nassau International Airport on Monday

Aircrews completed five medical evacuations of the 19 people, ranging in ages from children to elderly, from the clinic (satellite image of the clinic before the storm) in various medical conditions

This satellite image show the Grand Bahama island before it was struck by Hurricane Dorian

This satellite image shows the devastation from the floods brought on by Hurricane Dorian on Grand Bahama

'Our mission and focus now is search, rescue and recovery,' Minnis added. He said the US Coast Guard was on the ground in Abaco and had rescued a number of injured individuals.

The Coast Guard airlifted at least 21 people who were injured on Abaco Island, which Dorian hit on Sunday with sustained winds of 185mph and gusts of up to 220mph, a strength matched only by the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, before storms were given names.

Critically injured people were being taken to hospitals on New Providence, the country's most populous island.

The storm was at a standstill, with part of its eyewall having hung over Grand Bahama Island since Sunday night.

The Royal Family shared condolences to the victims of Hurricane Dorian in a statement shared on Instagram

As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

Red Cross spokesman Matthew Cochrane said the Red Cross authorized a half-million dollars for the first wave of disaster relief.

'What we are hearing lends credence to the fact that this has been a catastrophic storm and a catastrophic impact,' he said.

The Royal Family shared their condolences to the victims of Hurricane Dorian in a statement that was shared on Instagram.

'Prince Philip and I have been shocked and saddened to learn of the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian, and we send our sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives following this terrible storm,' a message from Queen Elizabeth II reads.

'At this very difficult time, my thoughts and prayers are with those who have seen their homes and property destroyed, and I also send my gratitude to the emergency services and volunteers who are supporting the rescue and recovery effort,' the statement concluded.

Efforts to reach officials in the Bahamas by phone on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Houses in a neighborhood in Freeport on Grand Bahama Island were engulfed by 6 feet of water.

'It looks like they're boats on top of the water,' said Rosa Knowles-Bain, 61, a resident who fled two days ago to an emergency shelter.

Video shows stalled cars (above) among flooded roads and completely destroyed homes. Bahamians were also seen picking through debris as they try to salvage some of their belongings

Completely destroyed businesses and stalled vehicles are seen as a driver passes by an area directly impacted by Hurricane Dorian

Julia Aylen (pictured) was seen wading through waist-deep water while carrying her two pet dogs

Aylen was wading in the water just moments before she and her dogs were rescued by first responders

Her son, Matthew, was also seen trying to escape the floodwaters while carrying a bag of supplies

Residents wade through a street flooded with water brought on by Hurricane Dorian in Freeport, Bahamas, where the storm's relentless winds have caused catastrophic damage and flooding

A family is escorted to a safe zone after they were rescued as Hurricane Dorian continued to rain in Freeport, Bahamas, on Tuesday

Volunteers rescue several families that arrived on small boats, from the rising waters of Hurricane Dorian, near the Causarina bridge in Freeport, Bahamas, on Tuesday

Volunteers walk under the wind and rain from Hurricane Dorian through a flooded road as they work to rescue families near the Causarina bridge in Freeport on Tuesday

Other volunteers were seen on a motor-boat rescuing people trapped by the rising waters of Hurricane Dorian in Freeport

US Coast Guard personnel wheel an evacuee on a stretcher after the victim was rescued from Abaco Island during Hurricane Dorian on Tuesday

Rain brought on by Hurricane Dorian continued to pour in Freeport, Bahamas, on Tuesday and devastated thousands of homes (pictured)

Bahamian officials said they received a 'tremendous' number of calls from people in flooded homes.

One radio station said it fielded more than 2,000 distress messages, including reports of a five-month-old baby stranded on a roof and a woman with six grandchildren who cut a hole in a roof to escape rising floodwaters. At least two designated storm shelters flooded.

NASA satellite imagery through Monday night showed spots in the Bahamas where Dorian had dumped as much as 35 inches of rain, said private meteorologist Ryan Maue.

Dorian was blamed for one death in Puerto Rico at the start of its path through the Caribbean.

Health minister Duane Sands said flooding has rendered the main hospital on Grand Bahama unusable.

Bahamian officials said they received a 'tremendous' number of calls from people in flooded homes. Footage showed the moment an ambulance became trapped in the heavy floodwaters of the Bahamas during Hurricane Dorian

He said the hospital in Marsh Harbor is intact and sheltering 400 people but needs food, water, medicine and surgical supplies.

Sands also said crews are trying to airlift between five and seven end-stage kidney failure patients from Abaco who have not received dialysis since Friday.

Parliament member Iram Lewis said he feared that waters would keep rising and stranded people would lose contact with officials as mobile phone batteries died.

'It is scary,' he said, adding that people were moving from one shelter to another as floodwaters kept surging. 'We're definitely in dire straits.'

Lewis also said the death toll, which is currently at 5, is likely to rise.

'It is safe to say, unfortunately, that that number will go up,' Lewis said, adding that extensive floodwaters were making it difficult for rescuers to reach stranded residents.

Meanwhile in Florida, residents reported sightings of fish (pictured) swimming along the roads as Hurricane Dorian neared

Hurricane Dorian caused evacuations in numerous areas of Florida, including in Palm Beach where President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club is located. A photo of the resort just days before the storm

A photo of Mar-a-Lago from Tuesday shows a storm surge brought on by Hurricane Dorian

He saw extensive numbers of destroyed houses, felled trees and stunned residents as he surveyed the area he said, adding 'it is just unbelievable'.

United Nations officials estimate more than 60,000 people in the north-west Bahamas will need food following the devastation left by the hurricane.

The UN World Food Program said a team is ready to help the Bahamian government assess storm damage and prioritize needs.

Its preliminary calculations show that 45,700 people in Grand Bahama island may need food, along with another 14,500 in the Abaco islands.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says some 62,000 people also will need access to clean drinking water.

Dorian, which over the weekend had been one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, weakened to a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale early on Tuesday.

United Nations officials estimate more than 60,000 people in the north-west Bahamas will need food following the devastation left by the hurricane. This photo shows a damaged resident building

Parliament member Iram Lewis said he feared that waters would keep rising and stranded people would lose contact with officials as mobile phone batteries died. 'It is scary,' he said, adding that people were moving from one shelter to another as floodwaters kept surging. Two vehicles are seen submerged in Freeport, Bahamas, on Tuesday

A woman walks in a flooded street after Hurricane Dorian hit Nassau, Bahamas, on Monday

Four MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews were deployed to conduct search and rescue missions in the Bahamas. An ambulance is seen outside damaged homes as they rescue a resident

Shortly after 11am, the storm weakened to a Category 2 hurricane as it continued to batter the Bahamas with life-threatening storm surge.

The NHC said Dorian's maximum sustained winds decreased to near 110mph, but it's expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next few days.

Dorian is centered about 50 miles north of Freeport in the Bahamas and is moving northwest near 3mph.

The storm is expected to approach the Florida coast later on Tuesday, but the threat to the state has eased significantly, with the NHC's projected track showing most of the coast falling outside the cone of potential landfall.

No place in Florida has more than an 8 per cent chance of getting hit by hurricane-force winds, the service said.

Officials in northeastern Florida have urged people to stay away from the beaches due to possible storm surge from Hurricane Dorian.

Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said Tuesday that waves of up to 20 feet are expected along the area's Atlantic beaches as the storm moves toward the north.

He says there can still be 'life-threatening if not deadly conditions at the beach'.

Lord said storm surge is expected along the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.

The threat of Hurricane Dorian to Florida has eased significantly, with the NHC's projected track showing most of the coast falling outside the cone of potential landfall

At 4.00pm, Dorian was packing maximum sustained winds of 110mph, the NHC said. Dorian was located about 105 miles east of Fort Pierce, Florida, and moving in a northwesterly direction towards the Florida coast at 5mph

Dorian, which over the weekend had been one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, weakened to a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale early Tuesday. Shortly after 11am, the storm weakened even more to a Category 2 hurricane

Over Labor Day weekend, hundreds of thousands of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina – more than 800,000 in South Carolina alone – were ordered to evacuate amid fears Dorian could bring life-threatening storm-surge flooding (depicted above) even if the hurricane's center stays offshore, as forecast

A hurricane warning is still in effect for parts of Florida, including Titusville (depicted above)

Forecasters also released this map of areas where power outages are 'possible' and 'likely' (depicted above)

As of 4pm Tuesday afternoon, most of Florida appeared to sit outside of the predicted path Hurricane Dorian is expected to take

This graphic shows the times and probability that Hurricane Dorian is likely to pass near multiple states along the East Coast

While it is expected to stay offshore, meteorologist Daniel Brown cautioned that 'only a small deviation' could draw the storm’s dangerous core toward land

While it is expected to stay offshore, meteorologist Daniel Brown cautioned that 'only a small deviation' could draw the storm’s dangerous core toward land.

The NHC warned that Dorian remained dangerous despite the reduced wind speed.

'The headline for this #Dorian advisory is NOT that the wind speed has slightly decreased,' it said on Twitter.

'The combined wind, surge, and floods hazards are the same or even worse since the hurricane has become larger.'

Several large airports announced closures, and hundreds of flights were cancelled.

Orlando International Airport ceased commercial operations because of the storm, it said in a statement. Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando will close by 3pm on Tuesday, it said in a statement.

Over Labor Day weekend, hundreds of thousands of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina – more than 800,000 in South Carolina alone – were ordered to evacuate amid fears Dorian could bring life-threatening storm-surge flooding even if the hurricane's center stays offshore, as forecast.

In South Carolina, the major Interstate 26 road was turned into a one-way evacuation route away from Charleston on the coast, and Georgia governor Brian Kemp likewise planned to reverse lanes on I-16 on Tuesday to increase the flow of traffic away from the danger zone.

Kemp said: 'We’re taking the "better safe than sorry" attitude.'

Dorian was tied with Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, based on maximum sustained winds.

Allen in 1980 was the most powerful, with 190-mile winds, the NHC said.