FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) Relief officials reported scenes of utter ruin Tuesday in parts of the Bahamas and rushed to deal with an unfolding humanitarian crisis in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, the most powerful storm on record ever to hit the islands. At least seven deaths were reported, with the full scope of the disaster still unknown.

The storms punishing winds and muddy brown floodwaters destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes, crippled hospitals and trapped people in attics.

Its total devastation. Its decimated. Apocalyptic, said Lia Head-Rigby, who helps run a local hurricane relief organization and flew over the Bahamas hard-hit Abaco Islands. Its not rebuilding something that was there; we have to start again.