ABACO ISLANDS, Bahamas -- "The devastation is unprecedented," Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said about the impact Hurricane Doria has in the country's Abaco Islands.
"We have reports of casualties. We have reports of bodies being seen. We cannot confirm those reports until we go out and see for ourselves," Bahamian Foreign Affairs Minister Darren Henfield said.
An 8-year-old boy from the Abaco Islands apparently drowned in rising waters, his grandmother told Eyewitness News in the Bahamas.
The grandmother, Ingrid McIntosh, said her 31-year-old daughter found the body of the boy. McIntosh said her granddaughter is also missing.
"I just saw my grandson about two days ago," McIntosh said. "He told me he loved me. He was going back to Abaco, he turned around and said, 'Grandma, I love you.'"
CNN has reached out to authorities, who have not yet confirmed reports of the boy's death.
Part of the reason it's so difficult to grasp the number of casualties is because conditions are still dire.
"It's not safe to go outdoors," Henfield said. "Power lines are down. Lamp posts are down. Trees are across the street. It is very dangerous to be outdoors."
And since Dorian is barely moving, the storm could dump a total of 24 to 30 inches of rain on northwestern parts of the Bahamas, the hurricane center said.
On top of flooding from rain, "catastrophic storm surge flooding" was likely, forecasters said.
"This is a life-threatening situation," the hurricane center said.
"Residents on Grand Bahama Island should not leave their shelter when the eye passes over, as winds will rapidly increase on the other side of the eye. Residents in the Abacos should continue to stay in their shelter until conditions subside later today."
