<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/gettyimages-1172291000.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/gettyimages-1172291000.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/gettyimages-1172291000.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > 1 of 63 An aerial view of damage caused by Hurricane Dorian is seen on Great Abaco Island on Sept. 4, 2019, in Great Abaco, Bahamas. A massive rescue effort is underway after Hurricane Dorian spent more than a day inching over the Bahamas, killing at least 20 on the islands as entire communities were flattened, roads washed out and hospitals and airports swamped by several feet of water, according to published reports. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Nightmarish photos shot from the air show the scale of catastrophic damage residents are dealing with in Great Abaco, Bahamas, after Hurricane Dorian spent more than 36 hours pummelling the islands .

Homes reduced to piles of wood, flooded neighborhoods and damaged cars and even airplanes can be seen in the aerial photos. The storm, which struck the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm, killed at least 23 in the location, but the death toll is expected to climb as rescue and recovery teams continue their work.

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding as more than 13,000 houses, or about 45% of the homes in Grand Bahama and Abaco, were likely severely damaged or destroyed, The Red Cross said according to the Associated Press. About 62,000 people on the hard-hit islands are without clean drinking water, The Red Cross reported, and U.N. officials said more than 60,000 are in need of food.

Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said that rebuilding the infrastructure could take hundreds of millions to billions of dollars .

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