As the Bahamas lay ravaged by Hurricane Dorian’s devastating impact, Tyler Perry is lending a hand to those in need.
According to TMZ, the Gone Girl and Madea actor is using his personal seaplane based in Nassau to fly relief supplies to the Abaco Islands – which have been hit the hardest by the hurricane.
The plane has already allegedly made two trips since Thursday (September 5), taking water, juice, sleeping bags, diapers and various hygiene products. On a return trip, the plane brought back seven passengers, including small children, a pregnant woman and others who needed medical attention.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Perry wrote that he was planning to do whatever he could to help.
Perry wrote:
To all the incredible people of the Bahamas who have welcomed me and called me an adoptive son, I want you to know that I am watching closely, and as soon as I can, I will be there to do whatever I can to help you rebuild stronger and better.
You’re not only in my heart and my prayers, you’re in my blood. God bless you. Stay Bahamas strong. The sun will shine again.
Perry is one of many good samaritans doing their bit for those in dire need.
Just this week, a Florida man bought 100 generators – at the cost of $49,285.70 – to send to the Bahamas to help with the relief effort.
Also, another incredibly thoughtful young boy has been praised for donating money which he carefully saved for a trip to Disneyland to buy food for Hurricane Dorian evacuees.
The UN World Food Programme said eight tons of ready-to-eat meals, storage units, generators and other emergency suppliers are to be flown in from Panama. The US Coast Guard said on Thursday they had rescued 201 residents.
The catastrophic Category 5 hurricane barrelled through the island chain of Abaco and Grand Bahama on Sunday (September 1), battering the areas with 185mph winds and torrential rain.
Around 70,000 people ‘are in immediate need of life-saving assistance’ according to United Nations humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock, who added on Wednesday (September 4) that the most urgent needs are water, food, shelter and accommodation.
Bahamian Health Minister Duane Sands said:
This is our Katrina moment.
The International Red Cross posit that 45 per cent of homes on Grand Bahama and the Abacos – around 13,000 properties – were severely damaged or destroyed.
As the death toll rose to 30, Sands added the official count could be ‘staggering’. Officials are reportedly sending morticians and 200 body bags to the Abaco Islands, the worst-hit part of the archipelago.
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said they expect the number to continue to rise, and that Dorian has left the Bahamas with ‘generational devastation’ – the hurricane is now hitting the coasts of South and North Carolina in the US, but is weakening.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.