A member of the Bahamanian body recovery team looks on as he takes a break during a search operation in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas on Tuesday, one week after Hurricane Dorian. Bahamas authorities have updated the death toll from Hurricane Dorian to 50 with the number expected to climb, local media reported. Photo: AFP

 
Tropical Storm Humberto lashed the Bahamas with rain and wind on Saturday, possibly slowing down relief efforts in the wake of the devastation wrought less than two weeks ago by Hurricane Dorian.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the center of the storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour, was passing Saturday evening about 137 kilometers north of Great Abaco Island, one of the areas hardest hit by Dorian.

Humberto was moving away from the Bahamas on a path taking it well off the east coast of Florida this weekend and early next week, the NHC said. 

The storm is expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Sunday but is not forecast to impact the Bahamas or the US by that point.

"Significant storm surge is not expected in the northwestern Bahamas from this system," the Miami-based NHC said - good news for residents of Abaco and Grand Bahama still trying to get back on track after Dorian swept through early this month.

But about five to 10 centimeters of rain were expected in most areas, with isolated flooding in low-lying areas, the Bahamian National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) cautioned. 

"I know this is not something people in Abaco and Grand Bahama would like to hear at this time, but it's out there and the storm will bring heavy downpours over the Bahama islands," said Shavon Bonimy, senior meteorologist in Grand Bahama.

NEMA spokesperson Carl Smith said Friday that the storm would likely "slow down logistics" of relief efforts, but added "We have contingency plans in place. Fuel and water remain the biggest needs in Abaco," Smith said. 

So far, the death toll from monster storm Dorian is at 52, but officials say that number is likely to go up. About 1,300 people are still unaccounted for, but Smith said officials are working to cross-reference new data and locate the missing.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Saturday after traveling to the islands the day prior that Dorian demonstrated the need to address climate change.

"We have always had many hurricanes, but now they are more intense, frequent, and they are powered by climate change," he said. 

"We need to make sure that we reverse the present trend where climate change is running faster than what we are."