Search and rescue teams were resuming their tasks on Saturday for the victims of Hurricane Dorian as the death toll climbed to a “catastrophic” 43.
In a statement issued on Friday night following a Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said that 35 people had died in Abaco and eight in Grand Bahama, the two islands hardest hit by the storm when it lashed the country with winds in excess of 180 miles per hour (mph) on Sunday.
innis said that the deaths were a stark reality the country faces following the storm and that with many people still missing, the number of casualties will significantly increase.
“The loss of life we are experiencing is catastrophic and devastating. The grief we will bear as a country begins with the families who have lost loved ones. We will meet them in this time of sorrow with open arms and walk by their sides every step of the way.
“To those who have lost loved ones, I know there is absolutely nothing we can say that will lessen your pain and loss. We offer you our shoulders to cry on, our prayers of comfort and our promise that your loved ones will never be forgotten,” Minnis said, urging the media and the country to respect the loss of life.
“The families need to grieve. We will provide accurate, timely information on the loss of life as it is available. We will first and foremost put the priority on notifying families and giving them the help they need to grieve. I ask the Bahamian people to join me in grieving this horrible loss. Let us pray for the dead and their families,” Minnis said.
But as the authorities search for missing people and evacuate others from the devastated zones, a former attorney general, General Alfred Sears, has criticised the process of evacuating people from Abaco.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Minnis, the former government minister said that he spent six hours on Thursday “trying desperately and unsuccessfully to evacuate my family members from Abaco.
“My niece, Jennifer Sears, her companion, Myron Delancy, and her four children (ages one, three, five and eight), lost everything they owned in Murphy Town, Abaco, during Hurricane Dorian. My brother, Peter Sears, his wife, Collette Sears, who is disabled, their two sons and a disabled daughter lost everything they owned in Murphy Town as well. After the hurricane, with nothing but the clothes on their backs, they managed to get to the Sandy Point airport to be evacuated to Nassau.”
But he said that while trying to get his family out, he saw a great disparity in the treatment of people.
“As I observed the desperate survivors arrive from Abaco, it seems that there is no justice for poor people in The Bahamas. Only government officials, wealthy companies, the critically injured, US citizens or those with means or influence are being evacuated from Abaco.
“The global humanitarian practice is to first evacuate, free of charge, all of victims of a national or traumatic disaster to a safe and secure location with proper facilities; then secure and protect the disaster areas; then assess the damage; and then implement a rational restoration plan, based on national policies.
“God help the average Bahamian person, who is not a priority even in the aftermath of this national disaster,’ Sears said, adding that what he saw in the faces of Bahamians and friends arriving from Abaco “is a sad reflection of the total collapse of the Bahamian state, leaving thousands of Bahamians bruised for life”.
Many survivors in Abaco have been pleading with authorities to ensure their evacuation, particularly after their home and properties have been destroyed. In, addition, some business owners have complained of being looted.
“They took everything from bedspreads to washers and dryers, to pencils and crayons. They had trolleys full of items from the stores. They raided the liquor store. I don’t understand why you would need washers and dryers at this time; everything has been under water,” said Sandra Sands.
“They stole every gun and all the ammunition from my husband’s place of employment and the two young officers from the Royal Bahamas Defence just didn’t know what to do,” she said, adding that Abaco “is like a bomb went off and smashed everything”.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said it would provide US$100 million to help finance humanitarian and reconstruction efforts.
The Washington-based financial institution said the funds are from a US$100 million contingency loan signed in April 2019 to cover unexpected public expenses arising from emergencies caused by severe or catastrophic natural disasters.
The Bahamas AND probably all the Caribbean islands are negligent in setting up a disaster plan. These countries MUST put in place strategically placed hardened shelters (can withstand category 5 hurricanes) across the island to housed the majority of their population. Looking at the damage to Bahamas, it is surprising that thousands of their residents were not killed as a result of this hurricane.
These islands also need stronger building codes.
Stop chat fuckery.bahamas does have good shelters. the problem is that people don’t take heed to advice. they were told to evacuate and they didn’t. most of the ppl who went to shelters survived.
Now isn’t the time to talk about what they should have done or should do. Go donate something.
What building code can prevent flooding on flat land? I guess you weren’t following the news