clarion.brevard.edu
Volume 85, Issue 3
Web Edition
PACK 4 ^ \
September 4, 2019
SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
SKK PACK 4
Hurricane Dorian
Category 5 storm wreaks havoc on Bahamas
By Chloe McGee
Arts & Life Editor
After nearly two days over the Bahamas,
Hurricane Dorian is now making its way up the
East Coast of the United States, threatening the
Carolinas. Dorian—one of the most powerful
Atlantic storms on record—stalled over the
northern Bahamas bringing blinding rain, rising
waters and 185 mph winds to isolated areas of
the islands just 50 miles from Florida’s coast,
according to CNN.
Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said
the deaths were confirmed at the northeastern
Abaco Islands, which “bore the brunt of the
storm,” Minnis said.
According to the International Red Cross,
some 13,000 houses are feared to be greatly
damaged or destroyed.
“Abaco got the worst of the storm,” said
Madison McGee, a native of the Bahamas and
cousin to Clarion reporter Chloe McGee. “Many
of the roofs have been ravaged and water levels
are over 20 feet high in some areas,” she said.
Compared to the mass evacuations taking
place on our Eastern border, McGee says that
her island is not as fortunate and, instead, must
take the necessary precautions to ensure their
safety and minimize structural damage.
“We put up shutters to cover our windows and
bring in the boats from the harbor to be either put
on land or anchored down in the mangroves,”
said McGee.
Bethany Albury, Madison McGee’s older
sister, believes that the United States’ response
to Hurricane Dorian is “necessary” because of
its highly populated, flood-susceptible coastal
cities.
“It worries me how so many in the United
States fail to take these storms seriously when
they are told to prepare,” said Albury. “It’s better
to be safe than sorry!”
Albury and McGee live off the northern tip
of Eleuthera on an island called Spanish Wells,
one of the Bahamas’ smaller islands and home
to a mere 1,500 people.
Although Albury and McGee have not yet
experienced the destruction of a major hurricane
first-hand, they have heard stories of Hurricane
Andrew when it hit and completely devastated
Spanish Wells in 1992.
“When the first rescue planes flew over
[Spanish Wells] after Hurricane Andrew passed,
there was said to be no sign of life on the island,”
Albury said.
Albury says that she has heard enough to
know that they should be “well and even over
prepared” for when a hurricane is expected to
hit, and that Dorian has surely confirmed this to
be true because of its erratic nature.
“After the storm passes, there is a moment
when you first walk outside and see the
destruction,” said Albury. “You are just grateful
that you weren’t harmed and have sustained
manageable damage.”
Fortunately, although unpredictable. Hurricane
Dorian was well monitored, giving the residents
of Spanish Wells the time needed to make the
proper accommodations.
“We were spared from a direct hit this time
thankfully, but it is agonizing knowing that
your family is in such great distress on nearby
islands,” said Albury. “There’s nothing we can
do except keep praying.”
Albury and McGee are thankful for the relief
efforts being made to salvage what is left of the
severely damaged islands and cannot thank the
United States enough for its willingness to lend
a helping hand to its neighboring country.
Madison McGee’s backyard on Spanish Weils
floods after Hurricane Dorian.
Fish can be seen swimming in flood waters through
window in Abaco.