Hurricane Dorian Relief; Green Turtle Cay & Marsh Harbor

Nice work on the ground level

Immediate relief and help from Pascal and so many others is admirable and needed.

I fear for the Abacos and Grand Bahama when Dorian disaster fades from the news. There was a small resource of builders, electricians, plumbers before Dorian, and many of those tradespeople may have left the islands. There simply won't be enough tradespeople to handle the massive rebuild anytime soon, and the fact that all building materials have to be shipped to the Abacos and Grand Bahama will make matters worse. The islands survive on tourism, and that source of income will disappear until the mess is cleared up and the lodging infrastructure is rebuilt, and that could be years and years from now. I hope I'm wrong and the Abacos and Grand Bahama will rebound relatively quickly like the Virgin Islands did, but the destruction in the Abacos and Grand Bahama was so widespread.

I think we need to be careful to distinguish the different areas. GTC was hit hard, but was mild compared to Marsh Harbour area. Grand Bahama had some wind damage but huge amounts of flooding. I see a fairly quick and successful recovery for GTC and Grand Bahama. I see both within two to three years being much as they were before. However, I don't see any short term recovery for Marsh Harbour as I see a nearly total evacuation, then major cleanup before any thoughts even of rebuilding. I expect that area to be largely desolate two to three years from now and to never be similar to the way it was before but more like an empty island built out from scratch.

There is a substantial amount of foreign ownership, and it's high dollar. These people are going to spend the money to fix their interests up again, and that includes helping rebuild the community they love. I am on speaking terms with people that are in the middle of this and they are opening their check books. Yes it will take some time, but it will be back.

I said "compared to". Half destruction is mild compared to 100%. I said "hit hard but mild compared to Marsh Harbour." 130 mph winds are mild compared to 185 mph. Some structures standing is mild compared to none.

I did not mean to imply and don't think I did imply it wasn't major damage. You said "Their neighbors thought they were dead" and that's serious. However, compared to the deaths in the Marsh Harbour area, their human tragedy is much less as well.

The damage in Grand Bahama is also severe but less than GTC on average.

I understand your objection to the word "Mild" but please consider the context in which it was used.

We've been to hurricane zones much like what you saw in GTC and it's horrible to see. You see people standing in trash piles that were their homes. You see the terror still in their demeanor and faces days later. I applaud you for your effort and I know how tough it all was to see and how tough to hear the stories.

The photo of the beached Marlow is startling but I'm amazed the adjacent docks look intact. Also pleased to see a number of houses in the back of the photo that don't look destroyed.

OlderBoater -- thanks for the correction about extent of damage. I hope Grand Bahama is able to rebuild fairly quickly, but Marsh Harbour sounds awful.

Any information about Little Harbor, Guana, Pete's Pub, Man 'O War? Is Sea Spray gone on Elbow Cay?

Pascal, I think it is fantastic what you are doing to support the islands directly. We spend a few weeks in the Abacos almost every year for many years, and most of the marinas and islands we visit have been heavily damaged or destroyed.

"Any information about Little Harbor, Guana, Pete's Pub, Man 'O War? Is Sea Spray gone on Elbow Cay?"

Sea Spray was wiped clean - maybe my favorite marina in the Abacos. I tried to attach two pictures from Sea Spray showing the devastation. The center of the eye went through the cut between Tilloo and Elbow, over Lubbers and then about 3 or 5 miles west of Marsh harbor leaving Elbow, Man o War, Guana and Marsh Harbor in the worst part of the eye wall.



Guana was heavily damaged and Nippers is essentially gone, with only remnants still standing. Same with Cracker Ps on Lubbers, the restaurant structure is gone. The Treasure Cay marina is destroyed, drone footage shows amazing destruction at the marina and surrounding neighborhood.

The damage in Marsh harbor, at the water front and to places like the jib Room and the Conch Inn is catastrophic. It seems it will take years to rebuild. Absolutely heart breaking.

WELL, the Marlow looks totally intact also, it's just sitting half on land.

Great coverage Pascal! Linking this thread to the front page.

Pascal, what you did for the people on GTC is incredible and I'm sure they all appreciate it and you've changed the lives of many people there.

Yeah, but you're the most important piece of the puzzle. Without you, the team and the supplies wouldn't have gotten there at all!!!!

Came across a hi-res drone video of Dorian's aftermath in Marsh Harbor. The damage is incomprehensible...

A YouTube channel named iCyclone filmed Dorian live. The wrath of the storm starts around 12 minutes. At 26 minutes, they walk outside to assess damage...