The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL


Tribune Staff Reporter


jrussell@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY seven years after Hurricane Dorian tore through Abaco and Grand Bahama, Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard said his administration would help families still searching for answers about loved ones who vanished in the storm.

Mr Pintard, whose family lost its home in the Category 5 hurricane in 2019, said the devastation remains visible in his Grand Bahama community. He said many neighbours have not returned to their damaged homes. Some have sold their properties, while others are still trying to find the money to rebuild.

“It's a whole range of circumstances that exist,” he said. “It's even more catastrophic as I passed two houses in my own immediate area where there are two mothers, two wives who were lost in Dorian. So, I would be highly motivated to seek to assist relatives in any way possible.”

Asked whether an FNM administration would conduct a formal inquiry into Dorian-related deaths, Mr Pintard said his party would do whatever is required to help families find closure.

He said he did not want to limit that assistance to a formal inquiry, adding that officials must first consult those affected to understand what they need.

“We will be very sensitive and responsive to what they desire, and we believe our job as a government is to assist them in terms of finding closure to the loss of loved ones,” he said.

His comments come months after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said investigations into Hurricane Dorian-related deaths are continuing “administratively” to guide future action, even though his administration decided not to pursue a more formal inquiry he had promised.

Mr Davis made the comment in October 2024 after The Tribune asked about his earlier calls for an independent inquiry, either by outside police investigators or through a commission of inquiry, to determine the fate of people still missing in Abaco and Grand Bahama after the storm.

Hurricane Dorian struck The Bahamas on September 1, 2019, killing at least 70 people in Abaco and Grand Bahama.

According to the Coroner’s Court, 35 people were reported missing after the storm. During inquests in 2021, relatives testified about their efforts to find missing loved ones.

At the end of those proceedings, then-coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez declared 22 missing people dead. Four victims were positively identified through DNA analysis. However, some families still have not received death certificates for relatives whose bodies were never found.

Mr Pintard said catastrophic disasters require policy changes, legislation and other support to help affected communities return to normal.

He acknowledged the government’s efforts to provide death certificates for some families, but criticised the Davis administration’s broader record on helping Dorian survivors rebuild.

He said the FNM, despite facing challenges after the storm, worked to assist as many people as possible.

He questioned whether the Davis administration could identify 300 to 400 homes it has fully assisted.