The Tribune

BY DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE once picturesque island of Sweeting's Cay is in total ruins but the more than a dozen remaining residents - who survived the fury of Dorian for two days - said the worst is behind them and they are determined to stay and rebuild, despite unliveable conditions there.

Most of the homes and structures were destroyed. Houses were swept off their foundation, roofs were blown off, and some had collapsed in a pile of rubble. The stories of survival are surreal - two men held onto to a fig tree after their home crumbled and was overtaken by storm surge.

On Wednesday afternoon, a team comprising representatives from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Department of Environmental Health Services, Social Services Department, and local government officials, took a ferry from McLean's Town dock in East Grand Bahama to the cay.

In the channel, some 12 vehicles that had been swept out to sea during the storm were submerged underwater.

During the boat ride into Sweeting's Cay, this newspaper observed that many of the homes along the shoreline were badly battered and destroyed. The Deep Water Cay Fishing Lodge had also suffered significant damage, and its barge that was swept miles away, is now resting in the middle of the road in the Pelican Point community.

As the team arrived at Sweeting's Cay, no one was prepared for what they saw. The cay looked like a battlefield - debris was everywhere, and the island's 12 businesses were destroyed.

Buildings were destroyed, including the Sweeting's Cay All Age School, as well as the BTC building, and its tower. The two churches - Ebeneezer Baptist church, and St Michael's and All Angels Anglican Church - were also destroyed. The government clinic sustained significant damage also.

Although the front road had been cleared by residents on the cay, the back road was still obstructed by debris.

Chief Counsellor Gladstone Russell, a resident of Sweeting's Cay, said the community has been "totally demolished," and is in dire need of clean-up.

"We have maybe about three homes standing that people can live in - many are destroyed and there is no need to come to the cay," he said.

"We need to start some general cleanup of the island, and we need some equipment to assist us with debris removal," he explained.

Mr Russell, who stayed on the cay with his family during the storm, said his home and three boats were destroyed.

It was an experience he won't soon forget.

"The wind was beating on me and my family for three days and we were in water up to our chest - it was an experience I never want to go through ever again in this world," he said.

Mr Russell said water filled his house fast. "I had to think quick and I kicked the back door open so the water could flow out to stop the water level from rising in the house, "he recalled.

While moving through the island, The Tribune saw that some residents, such as Shawn Davis, had pitched tents on the foundation where their homes once stood. They say they are staying and will rebuild.

He recalled how the surge came in and knocked down the walls of his house. He and his brother swam to a fig tree and held on for two days.

"It was really drastic, it was bad, I never experienced a storm like that, and I don't want to go through it again," he said.

Mr Davis also managed to save a 77-year-old man who was trapped in his home in flood water. "I got him out and try to go to my Grammy's house, but the water rushed that down, and I went to the fig and we stayed there for two days in that tree," he said.

When asked how high the water had gotten, Mr Davis said that it was about 17ft, the same height as the arches of his house which had collapsed to the ground.

Mr Davis said he was given a tent and some other items from the US Coast Guard after the storm.

Tyrone Duncombe weathered the storm with his wife, Michelle, and their two teenage sons.

"I saw the roof start to lift up, and so we prayed and prayed, and the weather keep coming down more and more," he said.

A neighbour next door sought shelter at Mr Duncombe's home after they lost their roof. "I heard my neighbour shout that their roof was gone," he said. He let them inside his home, which was under five feet of water.

Although he has experienced hurricanes before, Mr Duncombe said nothing could have prepared him for Dorian's wrath.

"When we had hurricanes in the past, the water only reached far as the road, it don't never come in the yard, and that's why I took the chance of staying here," he said.

A RBDF commander who was on the cay said officers came to review and see the condition of the area following Dorian, and to see what resources are needed to restore the island to normalcy.

"Having looked at the state of the island, there is tremendous devastation. But I am sure if the community binds together, they can over a period rebuild their community," he said.