By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
DORIAN survivor Uriel Delancey can feel his life returning to some sort of normalcy now he’s living “comfortably” in one of the government’s temporary housing domes along with his wife.
The 54-year-old Spring City resident was left displaced after Hurricane Dorian ripped his home apart in early September.
“My home was totally destroyed. I lost everything,” he told The Tribune.
After losing his home unexpectedly to the monster storm, Mr Delancey said he applied to the Department of Social Services for a dome for him and his family until their house can be repaired.
After several weeks of waiting, Mr Delancey said he was surprised when a social services representative called and said his family had been approved to live in the temporary housing structure.
He said: “The next day they gave me the keys for the dome. A lot of people were saying they were too small, and they didn’t make too much sense and all that but to tell you the truth, I love it. It’s comfortable and the only thing I could say is my wife and I are here for the time being, but it’s not enough for when my two boys reach when the flights (resume) because they have to come from Miami.”
Travel is currently restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is not enough for the family, but it’s enough for two persons and it’s comfortable for us two,” he added.
Mr Delancey said he initially hoped for the structure to be placed on his property, but that did not work out as planned.
“There are a couple people who have domes on their properties and that’s where I wanted mine and I wanted to start building because I had some lumber on my property to start building, but when I came back from getting my boys sorted out in Miami, they stole all of my lumber,” he said.
“That’s one of the reasons why I wanted the dome on the property, to watch my supplies.”
He said the site is “about five minutes” away from his home.
According to the Bahamas Disaster Reconstruction Authority, the domes can accommodate four to six people and can withstand 180-mile-per-hour winds.
However, Mr Delancey is apprehensive about this, telling this newspaper: “No, no way… They don’t feel strong, you walk and it feels shaky.”
Noting his family would “have nowhere else to go” if another hurricane were to hit the island, Mr Delancey said he is remaining hopeful that the island will be spared from having to experience another storm.
Mr Delancey does not know how long he and his wife will have to remain at the temporary housing site, but he said they are eager for their home to be rebuilt.
“As soon as I could get my house started or built back, I will try to move out as quickly as possible,” he told The Tribune.
“But that’s going to take some time because I’m waiting on the (Small Home Repair Programme), so whenever they start back up.”
Still, Mr Delancey said he is grateful to God to have a place to rest his head as many are still struggling to find shelter on the storm impacted island.
He said: “It’s very hard. It’s been tough because you have a lot of single mothers over here you see and they need help and it’s tough on them so every little help they could get would be helpful to them.
“A lot of them have rights to the domes but are (currently) stuck in Nassau and can’t get access to them.”
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