Though Hurricane Dorian was churning away from South Carolina late Thursday, some residents chose to play it safe and spend one more night in a shelter with their families -- and pets.

As the storm approached, Eric McKinney, 36, his grandmother and his black-and-white Chihuahua "Baby" arrived at a shelter in North Charleston the day before.

"I walk her every couple of hours," he said of the dog, with a smile.

McKinney and his grandmother, who is diabetic and uses a wheelchair, live in a house surrounded by trees in an area of nearby Charleston that often floods -- so they preferred to stay at the shelter as long as possible.

"I'll stay as long as my grandma has to stay," he said.

The one-story brick building allows families to stay in small rooms for privacy, away from the other temporary residents.

"I've been to other shelters where you don't have rooms," McKinney said. "But here you have rooms."

"This building is pretty good as far as being soundproof."

And those staying at the shelter can gather in a communal room to watch TV.

But the space is not huge, housing up to 26 people, with 20 planning to stay overnight Thursday into Friday, said Red Cross volunteer shelter supervisor Darren Courtney.

"The accommodations are wonderful," Courtney said, still upbeat after working for 36 hours straight. "We are very lucky to have this facility."

- Dogs, rabbits, cat, bird -

"Everybody has been in a really good spirit. Last night they were just laughing and having a good time," he said.

Courtney came all the way from California to help with volunteer efforts for the hurricane, which is now headed toward North Carolina.

"We have some very sweet guys that came out of town, from wherever they came from, left their family and came to help us out and take care of us," said 64-year-old Ruthie Snider, grateful for a place to stay as she remembered the rattle the wind had made the night before.

The downtown Charleston resident stayed in one of the shelter's rooms with a friend, two daughters and a granddaughter.

And she is glad to have been allowed to bring her two rabbits: "Animals get special treatment," she said.

"It's the only shelter in our area that is allowed to have pets here," said Harold Phillips, a sergeant with the Charleston County Sheriff's office who is in charge of the animals at this shelter.

Families "don't want to leave their pet behind during a major weather event," Phillips said. "Having the animals here, it's one less thing on their mind."

During Dorian, the shelter has been home to 10 dogs, one cat, three rabbits and a bird. The pets' owners bring their food and whatever else they will need during their stay.

But not all shelters in the area were so luxurious.

Just a few miles (kilometers) away, another Red Cross shelter still had 130 occupants for the night, crammed onto cots in a dark hallway -- with no power.

Confusion and delays at Nassau airport hamper hurricane response
Nassau, Bahamas (AFP) Sept 5, 2019 - After arriving at Nassau Airport, volunteers from NGO Samaritan's Purse hoped to quickly reach areas devastated by Hurricane Dorian, but instead waited hours under the blazing sun for permission to take off.

Their experience, like that of various other NGOs, reflects the confusion at the airport, in the northern areas of the archipelago that were devastated by the storm, and in the air.

"We landed yesterday with a DC8 aircraft loaded with 30-plus tons of critical relief supplies," said Alyssa Benson, spokeswoman for the North Carolina-based Christian organization.

The 18-member team of volunteers is waiting for permission to take off in a plane and a helicopter for the Abacos and Grand Bahama, the islands hit hardest by Dorian, which made landfall as a devastating Category 5 hurricane.

"Our team of pilots are trying to get permission to fly to Abaco and Grand Bahama," said Benson, avoiding a question about possible frustration.

"We just want to get this to the people in need, make sure we do everything the right way," she said.

The media are in the same boat: a reporter from an international television station, arriving at 8:00 am, was delayed due to a technical problem and was hoping to take off before dark.

The price of helicopter trips to Abaco have soared, rising from $1,000 to $10,000.

At the airport, there are too many people and not enough helicopters or light aircraft, and flights are often delayed by several hours.

- 'Huge emergency situation' -

"The air traffic control does not grant clearances," the head of a helicopter company said on condition of anonymity.

"Miami says it's OK, we have clearance, but here there is nothing," he told AFP -- and Nassau is a necessary stop to refuel.

"Even the Bahamian government people don't get clearance," he added. "It is a huge emergency situation and they can't handle it."

On Thursday, flights were suspended for two hours at midday for a survey of the airport landing conditions, an official from an NGO said on condition of anonymity.

"There is a lack of communications, too many people and they don't speak to each other. One say yes, the other say no," the official added.

The US Coast Guard, which arrived on Monday in the northern Bahamas, do not have this problem.

They "do their own thing, they have special clearance to bring patients here," the NGO official said.

Eight American helicopters and two tilt-rotor Ospreys are involved in rescue and evacuation operations, while American ships patrol affected areas and other light boats look for and evacuate victims.

Officially deployed as a support force for Bahamian authorities, they have a special place in the relief system.

Of the Bahamas, US President Donald Trump has said: "I guess you would call it a British protectorate. But I will do a lot."

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