There was devastation reported on several southern islands after Hurricane Irene finally passed through The Bahamas. The storm left some Bahamians homeless and others in desperate need of assistance just to survive.
"All of our power lines are still down so we don't have any power, we don't have any water," said Jodene Rolle, a resident of Acklins. "Our phone lines are still down. So that's how we are living over here right now. It's really sad over here." Captain Stephen Russell, director of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said yesterday 17 homes were destroyed on the island; there was major damage to 29 others, rendering them uninhabitable; and 88 homes received other types of damage.
The government had to send food, water and clothing via Bahamasair to the Acklins area as a result of the severe damage. Russell said Acklins and Cat Island were areas of major concern.
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force vessel HMBS Nassau is expected to arrive and anchor off Acklins by this evening, Russell confirmed. He also said 18 marines will be made available to all the impacted islands in the central and southern Bahamas.
On Cat Island, Leamae Wright has nothing left. After 120 mile per hour winds ripped into her three-bedroom home, and great surges of water poured through its doors and windows, even her mattresses are gone. All that remains for her after Hurricane Irene are dripping walls, a few odds and ends, and mud.
But there are a few things Wright managed to keep safe - her children's trophies and awards. "I had them kept away in a drawer, kept mostly above the flood," she said. "I have five children but they are grown up and all live in Nassau, so I am here alone. I have laid out these certificates and awards to hopefully dry."
Wright's children have won more than a few awards in their lifetime. In fact, the living room was filled with dozens of trophies, plaques and damp pieces of paper. One award, given to Michael Wright, honored his charitable work with St. Saviour's Church. Walking down the hallway, towards the bedrooms, Wright pointed to the ground where the flood, rising at least four feet, damaged her wall.
"We need help," her elderly neighbor muttered, shaking her head as she brushed by. "My God, we need it." Wright's ravaged home at Orange Creek was only the beginning. Cat Island was a scene of hardship and devastation yesterday, as hundreds of residents desperately needed aid. Destroyed homes, widespread flooding and shortages of food and water plagued the community.
"I've been in Hurricane Katrina, and I can tell you, for us, this was worse," said Christopher Stubbs, a retired, 69-year-old administrator for the southeast island The Nassau Guardian met at the airport. "There were gusts as high as 150 to 160 mph - the kind of wind that nearly ripped my face off."
Heading down a narrow street further into Orange Creek, Julian Russell, a local cab driver and entrepreneur, said the roads were impassable right after the storm on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, many of the island's 1,500 inhabitants were forced to walk miles on foot to find food and water in Arthur's Town.
"The island has already had many troubles," he said. "This is really going to hit us. But really it can only be good news, because maybe we will get help and things will change." Not far down the road, Willard Cleare, an electrician by trade, was shovelling seaweed and mud into the ocean. At 73 years old, he agrees with Stubbs that the strength of Hurricane Irene has been greatly underestimated. "We didn't get the eye, but we were in the inner circle of destruction," he said.
"You see that tree? It was 200 years old and the storm tore it apart. The only way is up for us now. We survive and we'll wait for our turn. It will come." Shanricko Seymour, a young man no more than 20, stood nearby just outside what is left of his home. Unlike Wright, Seymour no longer has a roof. The rooms are damp and destroyed from the storm surges, and yet Seymour, who lives in the small home with two cousins, didn't retreat as Hurricane Irene came rolling in. "This is my home," he said, simply. "This is my house and I've lived here for 10 years."
Large rocks from the beach littered the roads of Orange Creek. At some points, roads also looked like rivers. Residents said the water from the ocean quickly flooded the area during the storm. Evelyn Burrows, 58, said the water reached just below her knees in both her home and business. "My home is destroyed and also my business," she said. "I was living here all my life and I have never seen anything like that." A large part of the roof of her five bedroom home was ripped off by Irene.
"Four of five bedrooms were underneath water and the rest of my home was under water. I'm trying to clean out and get things together. But we have no water or electricity. I need all the help I can get." In addition to the damage in her home, Burrows said she lost the stock at her clothing store. "Right now the business is on hold because the back section of the store blew off. The surge from the sea blew the kitchen door off. I lost all of my belongings inside the shop." Even facing bankruptcy, Burrows was still grateful.
"Thank God for life. It's material things. Eventually it will come." Her neighbor, Allworth Rolle, 64, also experienced the surge. "When the salt water from the sea came up, it came right into the house. I suffered furniture damage, but I was able to survive through the storm." Rolle thought he was lucky compared to others. "After we came out and we went up to the end of the settlement, the devastation frightened me," he said.
Elizabeth Dean, who lives in Arthur's Town, said her home needs to be rebuilt. "I've never seen anything like it in my 50-plus years living here," she said. "Where my house is, it's the lowest part in Arthur's Town. I had about three feet of water, and the mud from the fish pond, in my house. The water is still there. I couldn't get it all out." Dean said she stayed at her cousin's house during the storm. But she said her cousin's home also suffered major damage.
Irene passed over Cat Island between Wednesday and Thursday.
Cat Island remains without electricity and water, and telecommunication services are limited to parts of the island. The residents were in desperate need of water. Sky Bahamas CEO Randy Butler, who is also a candidate for the Democratic National Alliance for North Andros and the Berry Islands, donated toiletries, water and food to Cat Islanders yesterday. "We're doing this because this is who we are. The people of Cat Island have been good to his airline. We have made many friends here. It's only fitting for us to do this."
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