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NASSAU, Bahamas – Historically the worst disaster to have struck Bahamas in its history, the small island nation was still counting the cost on Wednesday whilst engaged in a major clean-up after the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian.

With many people still missing, and rescuers frantically searching for them, the ultimate death toll, which Wednesday was at seven, could go considerably higher.

The destruction however of property, including complete villages which were wiped out, has been described as “unbelievable” and “unprecedented.”

Houses have been completely destroyed and many areas of the Bahamas have been swamped as floods have raged throughout the country.

The full scope of the devastation is still to be quantified. Aid agencies at work in the country are providing food and shelter for tens of thousands of people.

“We are in the midst of one of the greatest national crises in our country’s history,” Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told a news conference on Wednesday. “No effort or resources will be held back.”

“We can expect more deaths to be recorded. This is just preliminary information,” he said.

“Marsh Harbor has suffered, I would estimate, in excess of 60% damage to their homes,” Minnis added, referring to the port on Great Abaco.

“The Mud (a shanty town), as we know, has been completely destroyed or decimated.”

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimates up to13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged.

Food may be required for 14,500 people in the northern Bahamas’ Abaco Islands and for 45,700 people in Grand Bahama, the UN World Food Programme said.

After tearing through the Caribbean Sea as one of the most powerful hurricanes in history, Dorian slowed to the point where it was downgraded on Tuesday to a Category 2 storm. It remained at that level on Wednesday, but authorities maintained it was still dangerous.

Dorian was ready to bore down on the Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coasts later Wednesday. The latest National Hurricane Center was warning the storm could make landfall in South or North Carolina Thursday or Friday.

The impact on Florida is now likely to be less than previously expected. George however is gearing up for the worst. The state’s governor Brian Kemp has extended a state of emergency to include 21 counties covering more than 900,000 people, of whom 400,000 have been ordered to evacuate, according to the state Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.

The Hurricane Warning has been extended northward to the North Carolina/Virginia border, including Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. The Storm Surge Warning has been been discontinued from Port Canaveral, Florida southward. The Hurricane Warning for the northeastern coast of Florida from the Volusia/Brevard County line to Ponte Vedra Beach has been changed to a Tropical Storm Warning. The Tropical Storm Warning for the east coast of Florida has been discontinued south of the Volusia/Brevard County line.

At 2:00pm EDT, the center of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 30.2 North, longitude 79.8 West and moving toward the north-northwest near 9mph (15 km/h) and this motion was expected to continue Wednesday afternoon.

A turn toward the north is expected Wednesday night, followed by a turn toward the northeast on Thursday.

On this track, the core of Hurricane Dorian will move parallel to the Florida east coast and the Georgia coast through Wednesday night.

The center of Dorian is forecast to move near or over the coast of South Carolina and North Carolina Thursday through Friday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph (165 km/h) with higher gusts.

Slow weakening is expected during the next few days. However, Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during this time, the National Hurricane Center said at 2:00pm Wednesday EDT.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). A Weatherflow station at Huguenot Park, Florida, recently reported sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and a wind gust of 54 mph (87 km/h). NOAA buoy 41008, located off the Georgia coast, recently reported sustained winds of 49 mph (79 km/h) and a wind gust of 56 mph (90 km/h).

The minimum central pressure just reported by an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft is 964 mb (28.47 inches).

(Photo credit: ABC News).