'Category Hell:' 6 months after Dorian, where do things stand?

Six months ago, Hurricane Dorian, one of the most destructive storms in recorded history and the worst storm in the history of the Bahamas, turned lives upside down.

The Category 5 behemoth wasn’t just devastating because of its size, but also its slow-moving nature. The storm sat for nearly two full days over the northern part of the archipelago, moving at a glacial speed of 1.3 mph. All the while, it thrashed the islands with its extraordinary force. Dorian funneled a devastating storm surge over 20 feet high in spots and unleashed punishing winds with 200-mph gusts that wiped out thousands of homes and businesses.

The official death toll stands at 74, but at least 280 people are still considered missing. AccuWeather estimated that the storm would be responsible for damages around $8-9 billion, with $5 billion of that in the Bahamas.

Nearly two weeks after the storm's first landfall, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he’d “never seen such a level of systemic devastation” after visiting Abaco Island and referred to Dorian not as a Category 5 but rather “category hell.”

Today, some parts of the battered Bahamas are back and open for business and other areas still face a lengthy recovery. AccuWeather spoke to multiple relief organizations who have coordinated recovery and rebuilding operations in some of the most devastated areas to get a sense of what life is like half a year later.

“Send help now”

Matt Winslow, a resident of Rochester, New York, wasn’t on the island during the storm’s assault from Sept. 1-3, but he knew he had to help. His family owns Constellation Brands, a Fortune 500 company, and has been involved with previous disaster responses including in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Winslow, 44, had been closely monitoring the weather forecasts in the days prior to landfall, hoping a shift in the storm track would spare the barrier island of Elbow Cay, and the community of Hope Town, where his family had been building a vacation home.

As it became evident that Elbow Cay would suffer a direct strike from the monstrous hurricane, Winslow communicated to several community members and let them know he and his family would help however they could.

During the eye of the storm, Winslow received a call from the wife of one of the town’s council members saying roads were destroyed, people were injured, the airport was underwater and there was no way off the island. 

“Send help now,” she said.

Bringing hope back to Hope Town

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Winslow and a group of others from the U.S. and Canada that owned homes or had relatives on the island organized a conference call to coordinate a rescue effort. Among those was Brian Malone, a Tampa resident and native of the Bahamas who formerly served as Hope Town fire chief.

Within a matter of days, the group managed to lead an evacuation of 250 Elbow Cay residents via ferry while also coordinating medical response, search and rescue efforts and deliveries of needed supplies.

Several weeks later, the rescue effort evolved into Hope Town United (HTU), a community-led nonprofit organization. Since its creation, the group has led the charge to rebuild the island and remove more than 12,300 cubic tons of debris while also best positioning the island for resiliency against future storms.

Winslow, HTU’s co-founder, said he has visited the island four times since Dorian struck. The island still doesn’t have electricity, he said, and there is a real need for temporary housing, skilled labor and reconstruction. About 70 percent of the homes were lost and many residents are living in homes powered by diesel generators or in houses owned by people who own multiple residences.

Even with the debris cleaned up, piles of wreckage sit in three large staging areas and need to be hauled away by barges. It's unclear when the boats will arrive.

“The devastation was unlike anything anyone had ever seen,” Winslow told AccuWeather in a phone interview.

Hope Town United recently announced it was shifting the focus of its recovery from cleaning up debris to building five “priority projects” which include rebuilding the Hope Town Primary School, constructing new public docks and establishing a new medical clinic.

To date, HTU has raised more than $3 million through private donations and is aiming for a goal of $15 million as it ramps up the recovery effort.

“From a new school and clinic to utilities, housing and public docks, these projects will help the Hope Town community return, grow, and thrive,” Malone, Hope Town United’s executive director, said in a statement.  

Winslow praised the work of fellow relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. The non-government organization has been an “amazing partner,” he said, and has been entrenched on Elbow Cay since the beginning, bringing in heavy machinery and assisting with debris removal and rebuilding homes.

“Those types of things are just enormously helpful,” Winslow.

HTU is hoping to serve as a model for storm recovery for other small islands that may suffer from future natural disasters. The group says it’s working to build lasting solutions like solar power, microturbine power generation and waste-to-energy technologies.

“What began as an emergency response has truly evolved into a major community effort that will restore this island that we love so deeply, while paving the way for other communities to benefit from the solutions we’re developing,” said Malone. “If you had told me we’d have this much momentum only six months after Hurricane Dorian, I never would not have believed it.”

Making health a priority

Very few buildings were left unscathed from Dorian's damage on Abaco. Among the damaged buildings were five Ministry of Health clinics and three community-supported clinics. That’s produced a substantial challenge for those in need of medical care and clinicians tasked with delivering health services.

Americares has been one of the numerous relief organizations distributing aid. The non-profit, which is working directly alongside the Bahamas Ministry of Health, specializes in delivering essential health services for people affected by disaster.

Americares volunteers and staff members arrived in the country on Sept. 4, as many evacuations were still underway. The team initially set up in the capital of Nassau, treating evacuated storm victims from Grand Bahama and Abaco.

Their medical team, now headquartered on Abaco, is providing primary care as well as mental health and psychosocial services, Cora Nally, team leader in the Bahamas for Americares, told AccuWeather in an email.

The biggest ongoing health issue is patients going without care, she explained.  

“Often hurricane survivors don’t have transportation to get to a health center or pharmacy,” Nally said. “Many cars in Abaco were flooded in the hurricane and have not been replaced. And public transportation has not been restored.” 

Americares teams have been going out through the communities telling residents about the free health services being offered via mobile clinics. But for storm victims who have lost everything, seeing a doctor may not be the first priority.  

“Making health a priority is difficult when hurricane survivors are spending most of their time and energy and looking for work and rebuilding their homes,” Nally said.

Going forward, the biggest challenge ahead is ensuring patients with chronic conditions receive the necessary treatment, Nally explained. In some cases, diabetic patients are rationing insulin and patients with hypertension are going without blood pressure medication.

Last month, Americares announced it would be expanding its access to critical primary care and mental health services and lengthening its stay through June.

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Signs of progress, but much still to be done

Earlier in February, the Bahamas government said it had restored the normal water supply to a number of settlements on mainland Abaco, but a number of challenges to water supply systems persisted elsewhere. 

Temporary housing units in the form of domes continue to be erected across Abaco and Grand Bahama. In the meantime, government officials say they will continue to research “the best affordable permanent solution” for residents whose homes were impacted.

Nally said after more than 1,200 people were staying in the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium -- the largest shelter in Nassau -- at the onset of the recovery, but since then, the shelter has closed as the affected residents have been able to find more suitable housing arrangements. 

"In Abaco, families are beginning to rebuild, but many businesses, resorts and restaurants are still closed, and many people are out of work," Nally said.

The American Red Cross also remains in the Bahamas. The Red Cross has helped manage shelters, hand out basic aid items such as blankets and hygiene kits and distribute millions in financial aid.

Katie Wilkes, a Red Cross spokesperson, recently appeared on the AccuWeather TV Network to discuss the storm's aftermath.

“I’ve seen many families start to go back home to Abaco, to Grand Bahama,” Wilkes said. "Many are still restarting their lives here on Nassau after the storm.”

Wilkes said it is a "monumental" recovery process, and some people are still traumatized.

"They are still trying to go through the motions of everyday life, and part of The Red Cross’ role here is to be right by their side," she said.

As Bahamians steadily rebuild, they're particularly mindful of future storms, with the start of the next hurricane season less than three months away.

“Everybody here is still thinking about hurricane season, which does start early June,” Wilkes said, referring to how the people in the Bahamas are coping after the storm. “Something on everybody’s minds is still to be prepared for what’s to come.”

"As much as people really need that tangible relief, they also need somebody to remind them that’s it’s going to be OK," she said. "At this point, many may feel forgotten. They’ve gone through so much the past six months reliving that unimaginable nightmare from the hurricane. Many Bahamians state that they are just 'thankful to be alive' after the storm."

Additional reporting by Doug Hicks.

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