Cuba sending doctors, educators to Bahamas after Dorian

Ankara

Cuba announced Wednesday it would send a number of doctors and teachers to the Bahamas as that Caribbean islands struggles in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

Cuba’s Ambassador to the Bahamas Ismara Vargas told the state news agency, Prensa Latina, that 60 workers have been sent and will assist local authorities.

Vargas said workers will stay to recover the country’s medical and education services in the wake of the devastating storm.

“As is always the case with Cuban cooperators in other parts of the world, in the face of these disasters, everyone will [also] contribute their efforts in the recovery stage," she said,

Hurricane Dorian claimed seven lives and injured at least 21 in the Bahamas earlier this week as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.

An estimated 13,000 homes on the island were destroyed or severely damaged, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Florida dodges direct hit

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed relief Wednesday that the state of Florida eluded a direct hit from Dorian.

"We got lucky in Florida," Trump said. "It took a right turn,” he added, while showing a computer projection from last week that forecasted a direct hit to the U.S.

"Hopefully we are going to be lucky, it depends on what happens with South Carolina and North Carolina" he added.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center announced an extended hurricane warning northward to the North Carolina-Virginia border.