The troubles don’t end when Hurricane Dorian does
Residents wade through a street flooded with water brought on by Hurricane Dorian in Freeport, Bahamas, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
While Hurricane Dorian lessened from a Category 5 to a Category 2 hurricane Tuesday, the situation in the Bahamas is not any less daunting. Hurricane Dorian devastated large parts of the Bahamas, in particular Abaco Island and Grand Bahama Island and the videos and reports showed horrific scenes.
“We are in the midst of a historic tragedy,” said Prime Minister Hubert Minnis Monday, saying the “devastation is unprecedented and extensive.”
AccuWeather meteorologists forecast Hurricane Dorian to continue to move away from the islands and up the southeastern coast of the United States into Thursday. But the worst may be yet to come for the Bahamas.
“It’s becoming quite clear [Monday] that there’s going to be a period of waiting, of anticipating and of preparing, and then as soon as conditions clear, as soon as telecommunication improves, then moving very quickly and making sure that we reach people in need as quickly as possible,” Red Cross spokesperson Matt Cochrane told AccuWeather Monday.
The uncertainty means that the full picture of the horrific tragedy has yet to come into view in terms of what’s ahead for the Bahamas in the coming days, weeks and months.
Death toll
So far, seven Hurricane Dorian-related deaths have been confirmed. The government has offered no estimates about a possible increased death toll, but with the storm weakening, the government was moving forward with search, rescue and recovery operations.
“We have reports of casualties. We have reports of bodies being seen,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs and North Abaco MP Darren Henfield during a press conference. “We cannot confirm those reports until we go and confirm for ourselves.”
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crews helped with rescue efforts Monday and planned to continue operations Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“The Abacos are still dealing with some very serious hurricane-force winds, and these types of helicopters have been able to go in and rescue people,” said AccuWeather’s Jonathan Petramala, who was in the Bahamas. “The people they are taking off do not look like they are in very good condition, but at least the Coast Guard is able to make it out there and perform these rescue operations.”
Video obtained exclusively by AccuWeather shows utter devastation in Marsh Harbour, one of the first places in the Bahamas ravaged by what was then Category 5 Hurricane Dorian.
Shelter
The islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama have a combined population of roughly 70,000. The Red Cross estimated 13,000 homes may have been severely damaged or destroyed and the Grand Bahama airport was under 6 feet of water on Monday.
About 500 families will receive emergency shelter assistance, including tarpaulins, blankets, kitchen sets and solar cell phone chargers, according to the Red Cross. The government in Bahamas sent out a list of requested relief supplies that included 100 20- to 30-man tents, 2,000 cots, and 2,000 rolls of plastic tarpaulin.
Carlos Palacious, director of operations for Caribbean Coastal Services, had advised upgrading physical and environmental protections in the Bahamas so that the goal would be for homes to withstand 180-mph winds during a Bahamas Business Outlook conference in January of 2018. “The majority of persons today are living in homes that do not meet the current goal,” Palacious said at the time.
Hurricane Dorian had sustained winds of 185 mph when it made landfall; only Hurricane Allen in 1980 (190-mph winds) recorded a higher total since 1851, though it did not make landfall at that speed.
Food and water
U.N. officials said more than 60,000 people on the islands will need food and the Red Cross said roughly 62,000 will need clean drinking water, according to the Associated Press.
On Abaco, extensive flooding is believed to have contaminated drinking water wells with saltwater. There is also concern about the lingering effects from flooding and the disease caused by standing water.
Flood waters can result in a very large population of mosquitos, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Bahama residents will need to take steps to protect from mosquito bites to prevent mosquito-borne diseases.
Financial impact
The financial impact of Hurricane Dorian on the Bahamas figures to be daunting. AccuWeather estimates the total damage and economic loss to the Bahamas will be $3 to $4 billion, according to AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers, based on an analysis incorporating independent methods to evaluate all direct and indirect impacts of the storm based on a variety of sources.
Dorian now makes it four years in a row there has been at least one Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. This is a record for most years in a row that the Atlantic basin has had a Category 5 storm.
The Bahamas suffered massive economic costs from those previous hurricanes. “I challenge you to find anything in our economy that costs us more than a hurricane,” Mr. Palacious said at the 2018 Bahamas Business Outlook conference.
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