‘The devastation is unlike anything that we’ve ever seen before. We’re beginning to get on the ground, get our people in the right places. We have a lot of work in the days and weeks and months ahead,’ said National Security Minister Marvin Dames after Hurricane Dorian decimated northern Bahama.

Rescue teams are now on the ground across the northern Bahamas, using boats, jet skis, and five Coast Guard helicopters to bring the wounded to the main hospital in Nassau.

The immediate need for relief organizations is to get water, food and medicine to people stranded without shelter.

Here’s how to help:

RED CROSS:

The Red Cross has 200 volunteers in the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama. Shelter, food, water, medicine, and communications are the most urgent needs, said Stephen McAndrew, the deputy director for the Americas of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“All shelter materials are going to be highly needed,” he said. “We know that there will be a need for psychological support. That will continue.”

GLOBAL GIVING:

Global Giving has established the Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund to provide emergency supplies and long-term assistance to help in rebuilding.

WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN:

World Central Kitchen, set up by the chef José Andrés, provides food to people after natural disasters. The world-famous chef and a relief team have arrived in Nassau, the capital, and have begun to identify places where they can set up kitchens on the affected islands.

GRAND BAHAMA DISASTER RELIEF FOUNDATION:

The Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation was set up by the Grand Bahama Port Authority, which acts as the municipal authority for Freeport, the main city on the island. The site offers suggestions on how to help, including several addresses where donors can drop off supplies in the United States.