I have written many commentaries decrying the way natural disasters often befall those least able to cope. But this time it’s personal.
Hurricane Dorian has wind speeds of [185 mph and gusts of 225 mph], making it the strongest hurricane in modern records [as it bears down on the northwestern Bahama islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama]. …
‘Catastrophic conditions’ are [already] occurring … ‘This is a life-threatening situation.’…
Prime Minister Hubert Minnis called for residents of those places to leave for shelters in the central Bahamas.
(CNN, August 31, 2019)
I was born in Lake City, Abaco and grew up in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Both islands are so small (and therefore vulnerable) that the icon for the eye on maps tracking this hurricane completely covered them. This should have made it easy to appreciate the damage 30 inches of rainfall and 23-foot storm surges would do, especially given that both islands are as flat as pancakes.
I have six siblings and hundreds of relatives and friends still living in Freeport. When Dorian landed yesterday, they felt like they were living on an inflatable raft adrift in choppy seas with a pod of blue whales breaching nearby – continuously, mercilessly just to heighten their impending doom. The media was having a field day.
News outlets cover natural disasters purportedly as a public service. But there’s no denying that such coverage is a ratings boon for their bottom line – catering as it does to the perverse thrill of suspense that keeps us fixated on the hype of impending doom.
(“Katrina’s Coming, Katrina’s Coming,” The iPINIONS Journal, August 29, 2005)
Nobody has been reported dead in Freeport, yet. But everybody is reeling from the devastation this CAT-5 hurricane is churning up and slowly leaving in its wake. It is the strongest to ever hit any of the hurricane-prone Bahama islands.
Water, water every where,
And the land becomes a sea;
Water, water every where,
And the car becomes a ski.
For a short video of some damage click here.
As Hurricane Dorian continued its painstakingly slow and destructive trek across parts of Grand Bahama today, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said The Bahamas cannot defend itself against the catastrophic storm, which has already caused widespread damage [destroying over 13,000 homes and flooding the international airport with over 5-feet of water] and is still in attack mode. …
The Nassau Guardian understands that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officials has received a barrage of calls requesting immediate help from Grand Bahama residents who are trapped in their homes. …
‘They’re basically sitting in a fish tank looking out at the water hitting the windows.’
(Nassau Guardian, September 2, 2019)
Meanwhile, at sunrise today, after Dorian moved on and the water receded, Abaco looked like a trailer park that had just been ravaged by a hellish combination of floods, wildfires, and tornadoes.
And at sunrise tomorrow, after it moves on and the water recedes, Grand Bahama will look even worse.
My heart went out to PM Minnis as I watched him pleading for people to seek shelter. Because I knew his call would fall mostly on deaf ears.
To be fair, most Bahamians knew that heeding his call would be tantamount to the little pig who built his house with straw seeking shelter with the one who built his with sticks. But, given Dorian’s strength and our geographical vulnerabilities, there was only so much even houses of brick could withstand.
Yet, sure enough, reports are that people were scampering about Abaco, seeking shelter in sturdier buildings, when it became clear their homes would not stand. This is how the first reported death (of seven-year-old Lachino Mcintosh) occurred. But the death toll is bound to rise, not least because others are reported missing. Not to mention the ironic, if not incomprehensible, fact that most Bahamians can’t swim.
Ingermar Nixon tells CNN he is staying in his house on the beach in Freeport, Bahamas, because he says he has ‘nowhere to go now.’
(CNN, September 2, 2019)
No sh+t! But it was truly remarkable (and encouraging) that, even during the worst of Dorian’s battering, many people never lost mobile service. Except that I was placed in the awkward position of having to explain why one of my sisters was posting selfies on Facebook in the midst of it all. I couldn’t.
On the other hand, only God knows what Minnis was thinking when he called on the 73,000 residents in the northwestern Bahamas to seek shelter in the central Bahamas. Because he clearly did not give a moment’s thought to how they would do so.
I could not help breaking out in gallows laughter when a concerned American friend asked if [we] ever received evacuation orders. Her concern coincided with governors of states along the eastern seaboard of the United States ordering mandatory evacuations for coastal residents to shelter ‘100 miles inland.’
But the reason I could not help laughing is that issuing an evacuation order in the Caribbean to escape a hurricane is rather like issuing an evacuation order in China to escape the smog. Where the hell would they go? After all, if people on most islands were to evacuate 100 miles inland, they’d end up either in the Caribbean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean.
(“Hurricane Mathew,” The iPINIONS Journal, October 8, 2016)
Which brings me to my abiding vexation about natural disasters preying on the most vulnerable. Dorian is not only unleashing its full wrath on the Bahama islands but will be doing so for a torturous 36-48 hours. By confounding contrast, it will not only spare Florida (landing only what will amount to a wet kiss) but won’t even stick around long enough to see Floridians breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Beyond this, the small and poor islands of the Caribbean serve as a buffer every hurricane season to lessen impacts on the big and rich United States of America. What else but some perverse form of natural retribution explains this…?
Incidentally, as was the case with Hurricane Mathew cited above, authorities in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina have issued evacuation orders for over four million people. This, even though Dorian is tracking to land only a glancing blow on their Atlantic coasts, respectively. Granted, listening to reporters hype this forecast, you’d think Dorian were tracking to devastate these states with twice the wrath it unleashed on the Bahama islands.
But can you think of anything more vexing than Dorian sparing President Donald Trump’s infamous Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida after destroying the homes of so many poor folks in The Bahamas…?
It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. But it seems fair to call her a fool for continually unleashing her full wrath on the meek who, after all, are supposed to inherit the earth.
That said, the reason this weblog is ad-free (and “Like”-free) is that I don’t want my opinions tainted in any way by money-grubbing motivations, which determine content on virtually every other site. This is why I am even loath to solicit donations for worthy causes. In fact, I’ve been publishing this weblog for 15 years and I have only done so once. That was in 2008 in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, which devastated my mother country of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
As I did back then, I am begging for any donation you can give to help the people of The Bahamas recover. Like many Americans, many Bahamians live paycheck to paycheck and have little or no savings to draw on. Therefore, they will be hard-pressed to afford food to eat, let alone supplies to rebuild.
Incidentally, the damage is already such that practically everyone will have to spend
- tens of thousands to replace vehicles, household furnishings and appliances;
- tens of thousands to repair homes; or
- hundreds of thousands to rebuild homes and replace those items.
Then, of course, there are the personal items that are simply irreplaceable …
I am posting this commentary today while international media have you focused on The Bahamas. Because local officials fear nobody will care once the media begin covering Dorian as it teases up the Florida coast.
Again, I’d appreciate anything you can give. The easiest and most reliable way to do so is to donate to The Bahamas Red Cross: here.
[Update Sept 4 at 8:42 am: I gather many would prefer a more personal/direct way to donate. If you are among them, I invite you to do so via the donate button above . I assure you that, through the local ministry of my brother, Bishop Joseph L. Hall JP, every cent you give will go directly to those in despairing need.]
[Update September 16 at 6:50 am: I am no longer accepting donations for Dorian relief. Please donate for that purpose to The Bahamas Red Cross – here.]
Thank you!
In the meantime, I suspect no words can offer my compatriots greater comfort and hope than the following lines from our national anthem:
Lift up your head to the rising sun, Bahamaland;
March on to glory, your bright banners waving high.
See how the world marks the manner of your bearing!
Pledge to excel through love and unity.
Related commentaries:
Hurricane Ike…
Hurricane Mathew…
earthquake in Haiti and Nepals…