Charities, government agencies and even cruise ships loaded with supplies and volunteers have rushed emergency aid to the storm-ravaged Bahamas amid fears of a "staggering" death toll left in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.
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Bahamian leaders believe hundreds and perhaps thousands remained missing in the archipelago nation of about 400,000 people, even as the official death toll rose only to 43 as of late on Friday.
US President Donald Trump's administration requested airlift and logistical support from the Defense Department on Friday to support relief efforts for the Bahamas, the Miami Herald and other media reported.
The US Coast Guard and other agencies have already provided help with US Northern Command chief General Terrance O'Shaughnessy arriving in Nassau on Friday to assess the needs.
"We'll continue to beef up, we'll continue to collaborate with the government of the Bahamas," he told news reporters.
Hurricane Dorian, the most powerful hurricane on record to hit the Bahamas, parked itself over part of the archipelago for almost two days earlier this week, pummelling it with Category 5 winds, with some gusts topping 320km/h.
The most powerful hurricane on record to hit the Bahamas levelled some neighbourhoods, swallowed others with storm surges and caused what one official described as a "staggering" number of deaths.
Dorian also devastated parts of the Outer Banks Islands in North Carolina, on Friday and it continued to push northward along the US Atlantic coast on Saturday.
It brought tropical storm force winds to southeastern Massachusetts and Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard on Saturday morning, according to an advisory from the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).
"Dorian's rain is just grazing New England," said Alex Lamers, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
The storm was about 260km southeast of Nantucket and about 500km southwest of Canada's Nova Scotia province early on Saturday morning, the NHC said.
It is expected to make landfall in Nova Scotia province on Saturday night with winds of about 150 km/h and leave up to18cm of rain before pushing further east as a weakened post-tropical storm by Sunday, the NHC said.
The Bahamas had only a slight, 10 per cent, chance of rain Saturday that was not expected to hamper relief efforts as Bahamas Health Minister Duane Sands spoke of "a tremendous loss of life".
The medical chief of staff at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau said two refrigerated, 12-metre trucks would be needed to hold the "staggering" number of bodies likely to be found.
"We've ordered lots of body bags," said Dr. Caroline Burnett-Garraway.
The United Nations estimated 70,000 people were in "immediate need of life-saving assistance" such as food, water and shelter.
The UN World Food Programme was airlifting storage units, generators, prefab offices, and satellite equipment as well as eight metric tonnes of ready-to-eat meals.
The American Red Cross said it had committed an initial $US2 million ($A2.9 million) to help the Bahamas recover from the hurricane, with food, water and shelter and other necessities.
"Our relief operation is growing, but we are also facing serious challenges in terms of delivering aid," Red Cross spokeswoman Jennifer Eli said. "Even search-and-rescue choppers haven't been able to reach some people because there's no place to land. These challenges are affecting everyone."
The US Coast Guard has rescued 295 people since Dorian began, the US Embassy in Nassau tweeted.
Relief groups were focusing on getting doctors, nurses and medical supplies into the hardest-hit areas and helping survivors get food and safe drinking water.
Australian Associated Press
