Devastation in Bahamas southern out islands

**Devastation in Bahamas southern out islands**

(A Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew with Coast Guard Air Station Miami surveys damage in the Bahamas after Hurricane Joaquin passed through the Caribbean Sea. Bahamian government officials flew aboard the HC-144 aircraft to document and survey flood and wind damage to residential areas and air strips. U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark Barney.)

**Video: Bahamas Damage Assesment**

Hurricane Joaquin slowly battered several of the Bahamas southern out-islands before mercifully hanging a u-turn and speeding off to the north. Most of our major cruising areas were spared the brunt of the storm; however, San Salvador, Crooked Island, Acklins Island, Rum Cay, Long Cay, and the southern half of Long Island were devastated. Homes and businesses were flooded and destroyed, many roads are impassible, and utilities may take months to come back online. No lives have been reported lost directly attributed to the storm on the islands, which belies the intensity of the storm and the destruction it caused.

The rest of the island chain received heavy rain and winds, but were less affected by the hurricane œ electricity has been mostly or fully restored.

The a popular cruiser destination of Long Island took a big hit. The Salt Pond/Thompson Bay area is just a short hop from George Town, Exuma, located near the middle of the 80-mile-long island. Much of Salt Pond and neighboring Greys were heavily flooded, and Deadman Cay Airport was closed to all but relief-related flights. Stella Maris, in the northern part of the island, did not get hit nearly as hard, and the airport there has reopened. The south half of the island was devastated by the storm and surge, with many structures destroyed.

Through Bob Bower of the Marine Operators of the Bahamas, we received an update on the southern part of the island from Wendy Edler of Flying Fish Marina, Clarence Town. She reports that the “surge was horrible, the few damage reports we have received have been devastating and the flooding was disastrous.”

Edler flew to Clarence Town by sea plane on Oct. 4 to assess the damage to the marina and surrounding areas. “The marina did sustain some damage, nothing that should keep us closed down for too long. We did have some dock damage but they are intact and we have all our fuel cabinets in place. Of course we wont know for sure what we are dealing with until we get power, but we are trying to work on getting our generator up and functioning so we can be almost 100% operational. Most of the buildings did receive some damage but in the general overview of the property we faired better than most and with any luck we should be up and running soon.

The surrounding area isnt fairing as well, according to Edler: “The overall assessment of the area from what I saw was utter devastation and people are without even the basic needs. Even making your way down the roads is a challenge since most the areas are either flooded by water or covered with power/utility lines or power poles and debris. Our biggest hurdle now is just getting the main power in to help with that, not only do our own employees have their own lives and issues to deal with, most cant even make their way to the marina due to the roads. It is a mess and hopefully they will start to get some support on the ground to assist in rebuilding the infrastructure…otherwise it will take forever for people to get back on their feet.

Many people in the southeastern Bahamas have lost all that they own, with no access to water, food, electricity or shelter. They need everything: Water, canned goods, battery powered, radios, lanterns, diapers and baby wipes, generators, medications, bleach, building materials œ everything. The government has announced VAT exemptions for disaster relief carried out by non-profits. If youre cruising to Long Island or any of the other devastated out islands, consider packing your extra holds with some relief supplies. Here a list of other ways to donate funds or volunteer to help with hurricane relief efforts there, according to Coastal Angler Magazine:

[GoFundMe][1] œ Elbow Cay Community Association (ECCA) Hurricane Relief Fund œ Flying food, diapers and supplies needed immediately to the southern Bahamas.

[GivingGrid œ Bahamas Hurricane Relief œ][2] Caribbean Animal Rescue Effort œ Shipping pet food and supplies to help those families as they rebuild. Funds will allow for pets to be cared for while residents rebuild homes and lives.

[Bahamas Habitat Disaster Relief][3] (Bahamas Methodist Habitat) œ Coordination of volunteer pilots to fly in materials to needed areas from Habitat base in Fort Lauderdale. Volunteers bring in supplies including water, medicine, building materials, food, clothing, and air-conditioners, and they help with on-the-ground cleanup.

[CrowdRise Hurricane Joaquin Relief organized][4] by Long Island Bahamas
Information for those Outside of the Bahamas

Spreadsheet listing Florida Donation Centers and Supply Needs (Excel file with two tabs)
Information for those Inside of the Bahamas

[Tribune242: Updates-How to Help: Guide to the Relief Efforts Following Joaquin.][5]

The Bahamas Department of Inland Revenue has issued [a list of approved charities and non-profit organizations][6] for VAT purposes which are eligible to receive VAT refunds on expenses with respect to hurricane relief efforts.

Thanks to [Bud’n Mary’s Fishing Marina  in the Florida Keys for collecting donated goods to be flown to Long Island œ sorry we missed the announcement œ the cutoff for donations was this morning.

Read about he terror and destruction on tiny Rum Cay and San Salvador in a Nassau Guardian article: [A Tiny Island With a Tale of Terror.