The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Electricity Corporation Executive Chairman Leslie Miller yesterday confirmed that there was “some leakage” when fuel tanks were dislodged in Crooked Island during Hurricane Joaquin, however he said a full analysis had not yet been completed to determine how much fuel was lost.

He spoke to The Tribune amid concerns that the island’s ground water supply had been contaminated by the corporation’s diesel tanks.

“There was some leakage during the hurricane,” he said, “but we disconnected those and we already scraped out the fuel. The amount that leaked depends on really the amount of the tanks, but because we only went there to check I don’t think an analysis has been done on that yet. They said it was little fuel in the tanks.”

He added: “But I don’t think BEC would play a big role in contamination if there is any there.”

Two 25,000-gallon capacity fuel tanks were shifted from their bases as the category four hurricane devastated the island earlier this month. During an inspection on October 10, Mr Miller said a crane would be needed to put the cylindrical tanks back into place.

Mr Miller also said Crooked Island residents are likely to be without mainstream power for at least another month.

He explained that teams from the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) and Grand Bahama were expected to arrive on the island “shortly”, and partial restoration was estimated to take around 30 to 45 days.

BEC has said fixing the damage on Crooked Island will require replacing “all of its infrastructure on the island,” which calls for “significant resources – human and capital - as well as time.”

However, the corporation has said it is “committed” to fully restoring power to the island’s 253 disconnected customers.

As for residents, acting Island Administrator Gilbert Kemp yesterday praised the resilience of Crooked Islanders, whom he said were slowly fostering a sense of optimism about their plight.

Without electricity or running water for more than two weeks, Mr Kemp said residents had started to come to grips with the traumatic ordeal and mobilise in the face of hardship.

“We have about 60 to 70 residents,” he said, “close to 100 people and people are coming home every day. They’re starting to come back, and say this is our Crooked Island. A lot of people were shocked. The reality is now starting to set in and people realise we got to do what we got to do. We’re starting to do some minor repairs to the clinic. People are now saying ‘look this is our island and we have to move forward.’”

“We’re managing, we’re getting creative,” he added. “(Food) it’s basically canned goods and you have little small portable stoves. There is a sense of optimism in the air, people are beginning to take charge and focus on the way forward.”