Some Grand Bahamians are describing conditions as hell on Earth in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

The description was used by Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Emerick Seymour, officer in charge of Grand Bahama, in Freeport on Saturday.

"The only good thing about it is that there were no lives lost," Seymour said.

Yesterday, the island, already deeply scarred by the storms of 2004 and 2005, was still without power supply.

Authorities said the storm ripped down more than 700 poles.

Water was being provided in some areas intermittently.

Government officials said Rand Memorial Hospital and clinics were on generator.

Most of the island's businesses remained closed and long lines had formed at service stations.

Among the hardest hit communities in Grand Bahama were West End, Hunters, Pinder's Point, Lewis Yard and Eight Mile Rock as a powerful storm surge rushed into homes and other structures.

Many of the stores in Port Lucaya were devastated.

Our Lucaya, Memories, Castaways and other hotels were closed or were operating minimally.

Officials acknowledged that the economy has suffered a major blow and it could be a long time before some semblance of normalcy returns to the island.

In the wake of the storm, many residents appear to be in a daze.

Prime Minister Perry Christie toured the devastation in West End on Saturday, where many homes and businesses were flattened by the storm.

As the prime minister spoke to residents, Sherica Smith sat in tears looking at the home she was born and raised in.
It was the first day she had been back home since the day before Hurricane Matthew struck.

"We just came here this morning, and everything was everywhere; all kind of mud and everything; we lost everything," is all Smith could say as she tried to hold back the tears streaming down her face on Saturdayafternoon.

"I grew up here; born and raised here; and our little business over there, it's wiped away.

"It was a conch business. We used to sell pickled conch and conch salad and other stuff.

"All of this, I wasn't expecting all of this.

"I don't even know where to start.

"I'm so weak, I can't do anything because I didn't sleep for four days."

The surge from the hurricane went inside the family's home and destroyed their belongings.

Clothing, painting, furniture and many other of the family's possessions were on the front lawn.

Smith said Hurricane Matthew was much worse than Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004.

"The hotel where we stayed (during Matthew) was shaking and it started leaking," Smith said.

"We had to put things to the door because it felt like it was going to shake to pieces.

"The water started to rise in the marina; all the trees [were] snapping, everything was crazy.

"Everyone was so terrified. We were so scared. We didn't know what was what.

"We lost all of our clothes, everything; we had to rush; we weren't expecting that; it was like eight to nine feet of water."

Several other residents in the area had their clothing over clothes lines in a attempt to salvage them.

There were ruined furniture and mattresses outside.

Some buildings only had the foundation left.

Resilient
Van Bodden, a resident and business owner of West End, stood in front of his decimated laundromat in apparent dismay.
The only things that stood were the broken washers and dryers.

"I got a phone call around 6:15 Friday morning and they told me that my business was gone," Bodden said.

"It took me about two hours to get from my place.

"It's not too far, but we had to cut our way through with chain saw and cutlass to see what was going on."

Bodden said his business has been there for three years.

"I'm a little sad, but thank God it wasn't my life lost, and I could always bring this back with a little help," he said.

He also said that the damage caused by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne could not compare to the damage Matthew left.

"It was double that, it was worse, much worse," Bodden recalled.

When asked what made them so different, the West End resident said, "Well, I experienced the two (Frances and Jeanne).

"I was here and I stayed in my house for the two. My house didn't really get much damage.

"It came from the north so it was worse than Frances and Jeanne, because they came from a different direction; that's what made West End so bad."

Liz Grant, another West End resident, who also lived in her home all of her life, said she was not shocked by the aftermath of the storm.

The strong 140 miles per hour winds blew a boat into the front porch of her home. It landed at the front door.

"I wasn't shocked because I know the last time when we had Frances and Jeanne I knew how the devastation was," Grant said.

"So I say well all I have to do is come and clean and rebuild and get the place back together."

West Grand Bahama Island Administrator Brenda Colebrooke reported that there was only one person injured in the storm in that area -- a middle-aged man who received two broken legs.

There was one house fire and 90 percent of all of the structures in the West Grand Bahama district received some damage, some greater than others.

"Hurricane Matthew visited the West Grand Bahama district in a very, very strong way," Colebrooke said.

"The residents of West Grand Bahama, Eight Mile Rock and West End in particular are very devastated.

"West End, in particular, is in a very serious state.

"There was serious flooding. We have a number of residents who are displaced.

"We have a number of persons who are just in a state of shock and they don't know where to start.

"But as always the people of West Grand Bahama and Grand Bahama in particular are resilient people.

"Hurricane Matthew came and now it's time for recovery."

Sloan Smith, Guardian Staff Reporter

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