The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FLOODING that increases the risk of contracting mosquito transmitted diseases is the biggest concern for residents of Inagua now that Hurricane Matthew has passed the island, administrator Samuel Miller told The Tribune early Thursday morning as Matthew continued to batter New Providence, bringing increasingly powerful winds and torrential rain.

Residents of the southern island "heeded the warnings" about the storm, Mr Miller said, allowing them to fare relatively well through it all.

There have been no emergency situations on the island and damage to houses has not been substantial.

Flooding, however, is the key concern because it could facilitate an increase in mosquito-borne illnesses, he said.

"One of the local ponds is running into one of the side streets. The water overflowed a bank so to speak. We will have to take a four wheel drive to go through that water. Inagua is prone to mosquito problems. When the water subsides we will have a very serious mosquito problem."

Mr Miller said the windy conditions have reduced but the island continues to feel the effects.

"We had three local shacks torn apart. They were shacks constructed by local government. Residents were using them to create revenue for themselves on the weekend and they are always very well-attended. They were turned upside down. We will determine what can be done. They're made of wood so it shouldn't be hard to deal with them.

"I have not heard about emergency situations though and would have known by now if that was they existed. We did have about 45 evacuees to the shelters. But right now we only have about two people left in the shelters."

As for homes, Mr Miller said shingles have been torn off the roofs of some houses but there is no substantial damage.

"People heeded warnings to properly secure their premises. If not for that, we would not have fared so well because that wind Tuesday night was nothing to play with. Many roofs would have gone off if not for that."

One major issue, Mr Miller said, is that the salt company, Morton, sustained significant damage to one of its salt pumps.

"It's one of the pumps that pumps salt water from the ocean through a canal for about eight miles or so to the Morton facility," he said. "Morton is going to deal with that immediately by assessing what that will cost to fix that. Morton was very helpful in helping us clear the main street, Gregory Street, because that was full of debris yesterday, so vehicles could pass. We are now teaming up with citizens to do the best we could to clear the areas."

Mr Miller expressed hope that Bahamas Power & Light would soon begin efforts to restore power to the island, noting that power has been disconnected since Tuesday and several lamp poles and electrical lines have been knocked down.

"Lots of stuff in people's refrigerator is probably stale by now and the sooner we can get power back up the better," he said.