The day Hurricane Wilma struck Grand Bahama will go down as a day in infamy in the hurricane annals of The Bahamas.
Government officials assessing damage on that island yesterday reported that at least 100 houses were destroyed by the storm, which clobbered the island on Monday, killing a baby boy who officials said died as a result of sea surge in Eight Mile Rock.
Many residents said that the damage they suffered was much more extensive than during hurricanes Frances and Jeanne last year.
After spending nine hours touring Grand Bahamian communities for much of the day yesterday, Prime Minister Perry Christie expressed shock and sadness over the monumental damage caused in certain areas of Grand Bahama.
He said the government will “as quickly as humanly possible bring great focus to the challenges we have seen”.
“I cannot describe adequately what we have seen,” Mr. Christie said at a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in Freeport following his tour.
“I saw scenes that I imagined when I saw the reports of the tsunami in the Far East. I saw scenes reminiscent of what we saw in Louisiana and Mississippi [during Hurricane Katrina].
“I saw entire communities with houses having disappeared. We saw people who have stories to tell, stories of great fear, stories of great heroism, of young men and old men who worked to save the lives of people, and all of us who walked the communities for nine hours today have thanked God over and over in unison with the people who have suffered because we knew that God must have been present because this could have happened at night when people were asleep and if it had happened at night, God knows the price we would have paid.”
The nation’s leader visited communities along the coast, including Williams Town, Bevans Town, Hunters, Pinder’s Point, and West End.
“We saw the devastation, the coastal erosion,” the prime minister said. “But we saw the confidence of the people-We saw the utter devastation. We saw even the anger of people who were questioning authorities and questioning themselves.”
Mr. Christie said he saw some of the same people who suffered devastation during hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, having to relive the same experiences.
But he said the spirit of Bahamians remains strong.
“Yes we saw despair,” he said. “But I have been saying in recent times as I’ve said in the past that you cannot price or even measure this spirit of the Bahamian and it is that spirit that I speak this afternoon. I have described it in Abaco and in Grand Bahama, wherever we have been, as an indomitable spirit, one that cannot be broken; bent, yes; knocked down, yes, but not broken.”
Prime Minister Christie and his delegation of Cabinet Ministers, technical experts, religious leaders and union leaders, met with Crystal Pintard, whose 17-month-old son was swept away in the tidal surges of Hurricane Wilma.
The boy’s body was found hours later about a mile away from the home.
Mr. Christie’s voice cracked as he spoke of meeting Ms. Pintard and the child’s father and uncle.
“Her tears were very powerful, but again a reminder of the loss that has taken place that we can do nothing about, but that we should also be thankful for the fact that so many lives were spared,” the prime minister said.
Ms. Pintard, 21, said there was nothing she could do to save her child.
“I don’t know what really happened because I was stuck on a different side from my children,” the mother of three said. “I only could hear the news after my uncle got to me.”
At his press conference, Mr. Christie pointed out that members of parliament will today begin debate on the Disaster Preparedness Bill.
He said that the government will ensure that graveyards, clinics, key buildings and other structures are no longer built along the coastline.
Mr. Christie’s comments came after he viewed caskets and bodies that had been unearthed at several cemeteries, including one in Eight Mile Rock.
Government officials announced that they have sent food and water to the affected communities and have also sent buses to transport residents to shelters.
Shelters were scheduled to be opened at 6pm yesterday and Minister of Social Services and Community Development Melanie Griffin, who was also in Grand Bahama, said they will remain opened for as long as is needed.
Minister of Housing Shane Gibson noted that there are many challenges ahead as Grand Bahama, once again, rebuilds after a hurricane.
“We are also going to be extremely challenged in addition to trying to find building materials, [we have to find] workers. As you know one of the holdups during the last repair and reconstruction was we could not find sufficient contractors, carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers, skilled and unskilled labourers,” Minister Gibson said.
But he indicated that his Ministry is committed to assisting with a speedy rebuilding exercise.
“We will be doing all that we [can] as quickly as we [can] to bring relief to as many persons as we can as quickly as possible,” Minister Gibson said.
He said technical teams will be out in Grand Bahama “in full force” this morning.
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
