[7] Skiffs rented by The Bahamian government shuttled residents of outlying fishing communities to McLean's Town in Grand Bahama.

Prime Minister of The Bahamas Hubert Minnis warned people to "not be foolish and try to brave out this hurricane", later adding that those that did not evacuate "are placing themselves in extreme danger and can expect a catastrophic consequence".

[13][14] Bahamian Minister of Agriculture Michael Pintard reported an estimated storm tide of 20 to 25 ft (6.1 to 7.6 m) at his home on Grand Bahama.

[23] For several days, Marsh Harbour Airport on Great Abaco was underwater, and the control tower was damaged by the waters.

[32] The operating room, intensive care unit, and the wards were rendered unusable after being tainted by sewage, while mould outbreaks after the floodwaters receded forced more parts of the hospital to be evacuated.

[24] Residents in the Abacos and Grand Bahama suffered from water shortages, power outages, and a lack of telecommunications; these conditions created difficulty in handling the logistics of the disaster.

[24] Thousands of people left Abaco and Grand Bahama in the days after the storm,[26] with the Department of Rehabilitative Welfare Services in New Providence recording 6,854 evacuees entering Nassau by air from September 5–13.

[38][39] Bahamasair offered free flights out of Abaco and Grand Bahama beginning September 5, though some passengers said they still had to pay.

[42] The Pan American Health Organization sent a team of doctors, nurses, and 34 tons of medical equipment for a three-month stay in the country.

The majority of the Team Rubicon Canada efforts were centered on clearing debris at key facilities and structures in Marsh Harbour.

[45] The United Kingdom pledged £1.5 million to support the RFA Mounts Bay, which delivered emergency supplies and a helicopter.

[49] On September 6, Canada sent a CC-130J Hercules aircraft to Nassau, joining the Jamaican Defence Force's Disaster Assistance Response Team.

[61][17][62] The lead physician for northern Abaco, Latoya Munroe, stated the official death toll excludes undocumented Haitian immigrants living in the Mudd and surrounding areas and reported seeing 80–100 bodies herself.

In a statement on 9 June 2020, former Health Minister Dr. Duane Sands raised concerns over the handling of the missing persons list.

[1] Within a week of the hurricane's impact U.S. and Canadian urban search and rescue teams were deployed across Abaco and Grand Bahamas.

[67] Morgues in Abaco and Nassau reached capacity within a week of the hurricane, necessitating the use of refrigerated shipping containers.

Bahamian officials advised rescuers to mark corpses' locations rather than collect them, which was also necessary for canine teams unable to confirm finds obscured under debris.

[64] Corpses remained buried under debris for nearly three weeks after the hurricane, with decomposition leading to reports of overwhelming miasma in many communities.