They used their private jet to transport water, food, supplies and volunteers between the Abaco Islands, Grand Bahama and Florida. The outpouring of support for the humanitarian crisis that had occurred was incredible.Īmong the many helping hands were Tropix Air’s founders, Michelle and Alan. The strong Bahamian community, along with volunteers and donors from around the world came together to rebuild what had been lost in the storm. Tropix’s employee remembers vividly the value of hugs during this time with people hugging one another and sharing the gratitude they all felt to be alive. In the face of tragedy, the Bahamian community came together. Ultimately, this crisis exposed the heart and strength of the Bahamas. Many worried that even if they were to find a way off of the Islands, they would be without proof of identity or a means to pay for the passage. The lack of functioning ATMs also meant that people had no source of money. Most had lost their official paperwork, including passports, and credit cards. Hundreds camped out in government buildings, at the port, or the airport, hoping to escape. There was little phone service, so information circulated in rumors and by word of mouth. The Abaco Islands were essentially uninhabitable. Many were without food, potable water, and electricity. The Bahamians were largely left isolated. But Tropix’s employee was alive and filled with the desire to pay it forward. According to the New York Times, estimated damage in the immediate aftermath of the storm was at a minimum of $7 billion. After the storm, the death toll stood at 43 total: 35 in Abaco, and 8 in Grand Bahama, which were the two sites hit hardest by the gale. There was no running water and the roof leaked but most importantly she was safe and alive! Her golf cart had blown away, her job had blown away and her home had blown away. Tropix’s employee sheltered in a crowded and flooded house with 18 other people. There were shipping containers and huge piles of debris sprawled all over where once there had been streets and communities. Houses were torn apart and boats had been thrown from the sea onto land. During the storm, Marsh Harbour, the major city of the Abaco Islands, was leveled to the ground. Tropix’s future employee stepped out into a place she no longer recognized. When finally the storm subsided, the devastation was unimaginable. She hid on the floor of a bedroom closet, as the worst of the squall pounded the house. In a brief break in the storm, they were able to run to a neighbor’s house where they joined 14 more people including five children. She, along with seven family members and two dogs huddled together and waited for the storm to pass. Water levels rose between 18 and 23 feet, and up to two feet of rain was poured down on the low-lying islands.ĭuring the storm, one of Tropix’s future employees was sheltered in Hopetown, an island off the coast of Abaco. The category five storm had winds reaching up to 185mph (298km/h). Slow-moving and unpredictable, Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamian islands for three consecutive days, bringing along with it unprecedented and unimaginable levels of damage. Bahamians prepared to weather this storm, as they had countless other hurricanes. Prior to Dorian, news outlets touted the nation’s building codes. It was the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Bahamas. Less than one year ago, Hurricane Dorian devastated this proud island nation in a way that no one could have ever imagined. Even then, nothing could have prepared the people of the Bahamas for the storm they would weather in the fall of 2019. The Bahamas was the first Commonwealth Caribbean country to implement a mandatory building code in 1971, and is considered to have one of the best building codes in the Carribean. Most Bahamians have lived through at least one if not multiple hurricanes in their lives. This vulnerable island chain on the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean bears the brunt of all sorts of weather events from the sea. The small island nation of the Bahamas is no stranger to hurricanes.
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