'It's heart-wrenching': Fort Smith woman monitors family facing Hurricane Dorian

The Northwest Territories may besheltered from hurricanes, but for one woman in Fort Smith, Hurricane Dorian has hit close to home.

Brenda Allaire grew up on Grand Bahama Island and now makes her home in Fort Smith, N.W.T.

Members of her family still live in the Bahamas, including her mother and brother. This week, the island nation was battered by Hurricane Dorian for three days. It destroyed buildings and flooded neighbourhoods.

Allaire says she's been glued to her TV, radio and mobile phone for updates.

"Being able to see it on CNN and also hearing it on the radio in the Bahamas directly helps a lot, and then the texting that I can get, minimal, from the Bahamas helps to know that most of my family is well," she said.

"But it's just seeing the pictures of the devastation...it's heart-wrenching."

She says her brother's young son is reported to have died and, as of Wednesday afternoon, one of her sister-in-lawswas missing.

Additionally, she says her brother-in-law suffered a broken legs and arms and had to be medevaced.

Allaire says her mother and cousins are well.

She says Dorian is the most devastating hurricane she and her family can recall ever hitting the Bahamas. At least 30 people have been reported dead so far as a result of the storm.

As of Friday, the storm was making its way toward Atlantic Canada. It is expected to hit Nova Scotia Saturday afternoon as either a category 1 hurricane or a tropical storm. Sustained winds could reach130 km/h.