At least 30 people have died due to Hurricane Dorian which wreaked havoc in the Bahamas earlier this week, the country's Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said on Thursday evening.
According to Director-General of the Bahamas' Ministry of Tourism, Joy Jibrilu, "hundreds" or "thousands" of people are still missing, CNN reported.
"Literally hundreds, up to thousands of people are still missing," Jibrilu said, warning that death toll is expected to rise.
Dorian, which ravaged the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane on Sunday, wreaked havoc in the island country, uprooting trees, destroying communication lines and flattening houses, rendering hundreds of people homeless.
Meanwhile, the eyewall of Dorian is approaching close to North Carolina's Cape Fear, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
In its 8 pm advisory, the storm was located about 30 miles south of Cape Fear.
"Dorian is moving toward the Northeast near 10 mph (17 km/h) and this general motion is expected to continue with an increase in forward speed through Saturday," the NHC said.
The agency warned that conditions favourable for the hurricane are now spreading along portions of the North Carolina coast and the northern area of the South Carolina coast is still experiencing tropical storm conditions, CNN reported.
US President Donald Trump said he spoke to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp regarding the hurricane and promised necessary assistance to the affected states.
"Just spoke to Governor @HenryMcMaster of South Carolina regarding Hurricane Dorian. I informed Henry that we are monitoring South Carolina and stand by ready to assist. Be safe everyone, we are totally with you!" he tweeted.
"Just got off the phone with Governor Brian Kemp (@GovKemp) of Georgia. Happy to hear that things are looking good for everyone. I stand by ready to assist, along with our great team at @FEMA - we're with you ALL THE WAY!" Trump said in another tweet.
( With inputs from ANI )