As desperation rises, thousands in Bahamas flee Dorian's devastation

People get in a ferry at Marsh Harbour Government Port during an evacuation operation after Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco Islands in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, September 6, 2019. REUTERS/Marco Bello

NASSAU, Bahamas (Reuters) - Thousands of people fled devastation in the Bahamas on Saturday as conditions grew increasingly desperate nearly a week after Hurricane Dorian made landfall, reducing many homes to rubble and knocking out water and power.

Aid groups rushed emergency help to the storm-ravaged islands, and officials warned a death toll of 43 was likely to spike higher as the number of missing among the archipelago nation's 400,000 residents becomes clear.