Kirkwood McKinney has no plans to leave his home. A lifelong resident of Landrail, Point, McKinney is seen as an integral part of the fishing community's lifeblood. McKinney, like many others, is starting over.

"I was here from day one," he said outside his home last Wednesday. "I never left. I just stuck with it. I keep working in the yard, working in the house and whoever needs my help I help. We have to get the work done."

He spent 19 harrowing hours aboard a bonefish boat, along with 16 others, when Hurricane Joaquin hit last month. The residents had the boats tied to two pillars as waters rose to nearly 10 feet. His young daughters are some of the only youth on the island. Most of the island's school-aged children left for New Providence to go to school.

"Even though there was a false evacuation order for people to leave the island, my wife and my daughters stayed," he said. "They were better off staying here than running off to Nassau like some other persons that did, who I think caught more hell going there than if they had stayed. There was no shortage of clothing, water and food coming into the island from private donors."

Days after the storm, The Guardian spoke with two sisters who were told to leave Crooked Island. The sisters said the motel the government placed them in was not fit to live in.

Mckinney sleeps at his home, unlike most of the residents in Landrail Point.

"After two days here I cleaned up two rooms and started sleeping in those," he said. "I told my wife to take a vacation and stay with our son in Jacksonville, Florida, but she said no. She said she wanted to stay with me and try to salvage what she could in the home and clean up."

And like almost every resident The Guardian spoke with, McKinney had to dump much of his possessions.

"My whole life and legacy in photos were lost in the storm," he said. "All of my furniture and my electronics are gone. We lost four laptops, printers, TVs, a washer, a fridge, a stove and our deep freeze. So I had to take it all to the dump. It was depressing."

In Colonel Hill, Kendall Farquharson, 76, heads to his family's property every day to clear out debris and salvage wood.

"I will work until the work is done," he said on Saturday as he sifted through wood. "It has to be done and I am prepared to do it. I come here every day, do a piece of work and eventually I know that I will get it over with."

Only the foundation was left of the structure Farquharson was working on. He said the building used to be a rental home that was once used as a classroom and administrative office for the students and teachers from the Colonel Hill High School. The family's property also houses the Ponderosa bar.

Twenty-one Crooked Islanders were huddled in the Ponderosa's bathroom at Joaquin's peak, including the two sisters. The Guardian spoke with them and their children after the storm.

Farquharson said he remains in disbelief when he looks at the island.

"I don't believe it yet," he said. "I don't know what to think."

Crooked Island Administrator Francita Neely said nearly 100 people have left the island since Joaquin. But she said some have been returning to rebuild. Crooked Island has a population of 285 to 300 people, she said.

Neely is mostly on the road. Her office has mold growing on the walls and ceiling. It is uninhabitable at the moment.

"Wherever you see me, my office is with me," she said on Saturday.

McKinney, like others, is hopeful that the island will recover.

"The storm has virtually changed the landscape of the community," he said. "All of the resorts are damaged and this is the start of the tourist season down here. We had a lot of bookings for people to come down and bonefish starting from last month. But no one can come here because there is nowhere for anyone to live.

"The economy of the island is really hurting at this time, but Crooked Island is still a nice place. Crooked Island will bounce back."

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