The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WHILE Hurricane Irma has claimed more than 30 lives in the Caribbean, one Bimini resident is indeed grateful there was no loss of life on the tiny island in the northern Bahamas.

Bimini was spared a direct hit from the category five storm, but the island took a pounding from the powerful winds and experienced some flooding. A tornado associated with the storm also damaged some buildings and left residents shaken.

Clean-up is underway, and power and telephone services have been restored on the island. Some residents are now trying to rebuild their homes and businesses.

Patricia David, of Ebbie’s and Pat Bone Fish Club, in Bailey Town, said she and her husband suffered extensive damage at their business in Bailey Town.

She said that their bar, dock, and boardwalk were destroyed.

“We had major damage…our dock, our bar, and boardwalk all gone,” she told The Tribune. The couple had also lost all of their household appliances when seawater flooded their home.

Mrs David said that their convenience store, which is built onto their house, is open for business.

“We were flooded out, and during the storm, we were able to move stuff from the bottom shelf; the kitchen and store room, oh man, the water was almost to my knee; it came from the sea and went straight out to the road,” she recalled.

The Davids are hoping to get the bar business and dock up and running, probably by Christmas.

“There is a lot of work to do back there, and my husband is working on it now trying to restructure the dock, and then he plans to fix the bar,” she said.

She estimates that about 50 per cent of their property might have been damaged.

The Davids first opened a small convenience store on their property in 1983. They later built and opened a bar, which has been in operation for the past 16 to 17 years.

“What we had on the water - the bar, dock, and boardwalk - we have to do all of that completely over.”

Despite their loss, Mrs David has a positive outlook.

“Hey, I am looking on the bright side, there were no fatalities, so we could rebuild,” she said.

Brown’s Hardware, which is also in Bailey Town, also suffered extensive damage, according to a resident.

Carren Brown, of Brown Food Supply, is open for business in Bailey Town.

“We did not have much damage to the food store, thank God,” she said. “We were open on Monday (after the storm) because we had a generator and we did have to close our doors.”

Ms Brown said that residents have been coming to purchase mostly drinks and water because it is hot.

Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, left a path of destruction, starting in the Caribbean where it caused widespread devastation in Antigua and Barbuda, then in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, parts of the Bahamas and Cuba, and Florida, and in other parts of the US.

When asked if she was scared during the passing of the storm, Mrs Brown said that she had faith in God.

“I was not afraid, to be honest. God is able, and I put my trust in Him,” she said, reporting that she had fared well with only little roof damage.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis visited the islands of Bimini and Grand Bahama last Thursday to assess hurricane and tornado damage.

The Tribune contacted Island Administrator Kate Williamson, who said that clean-up is underway on the island.

A town meeting with the island’s residents was scheduled for last evening.