The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama residents were anxious about the damage Hurricane Nicole would cause as many people on the island have yet to fully repair their homes three years after Hurricane Dorian.

The residents, many of whom sought emergency shelter, took the category one Hurricane Nicole seriously, according to area members of Parliament.

In an interview yesterday, Marco City MP Michael Pintard said concerns and anxiety in his constituency were high.

“Persons are concerned or are anxious in light of what has happened before,” Mr Pintard said as heavy rain and gusty winds pummelled the island. “Bear in mind Grand Bahamians are very climatic event savvy. We’ve gone through so many (over the) years, persons are able to gauge.

“So, when they hear of a tropical storm or hurricane they have a sense of what to expect. Dorian unfortunately changed that only in the sense that despite knowing that a (category) one is generally not a devastating storm because Hurricane Dorian occurred, persons have to wait and see to what extent the predicted wind speed, the predicted level of storm surge, whether that holds true.

“There is anxiety and, of course, because there are a number of persons who have not yet prepared their homes from Dorian there is additional anxiety over leaking roofs. There are some persons whose windows or doors had not completely been repaired so there is understandable concern.”

He continued: “A number of residents from various constituencies have gone to shelters. I do not know overall what the count is. I just came from one of the shelters in my constituency and I believe there are somewhere between 35 and 40 persons who have come to that particular shelter and obviously the staff is doing everything they can to cater to them and make sure they are comfortable given what we’re up against.”

For his part, East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson said he had not gotten any reports that there was flooding in his constituencies, but there were reports of widespread electricity outages, due to a downed power line.

He told The Tribune that he was attempting to reach about ten men who had chosen to remain at Sweeting’s Cay while the other residents decided to evacuate.

At the time of the interview shortly before 5pm, Mr Thompson said the wind and rain had been at their highest intensity at that point.

He said: “Residents were very, very concerned. I went through the communities speaking to residents and ensuring that they were aware of it. The response that I got was very positive. Most were well aware of the storm. Most were keeping track of the storm. A significant number of persons left and evacuated into the main areas of Freeport. Sweeting’s Cay was completely evacuated save for about a few men who decided they would remain, the other area, east settlements from McLean’s Town coming into Freetown, I would say about half of them would have evacuated to family members or to shelters in Freeport.

“In the Over The Bridge area that was significantly affected during Dorian, I would venture to say again about half of the persons left. I did a walk-through yesterday (Tuesday) of the Over The Bridge area and about half of those residents, those who had two-story houses, most of them stayed. Those who only had one-story most of them left.

“I also did a walk-through Lady Lake, which was an area that was significantly affected by Dorian. They had major damage, in fact that was one of the areas in Freeport where people lost their lives and all, except one family, said they would leave.

“A number of persons when we spoke to them said yes. As a result of us speaking to them, they said they will leave and go to another area with family members.

“So, residents have been taking it very seriously. We are again hoping for the best,” Mr Thompson said yesterday.