The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FOLLOWING a shortage of ice on Grand Bahama, relief finally came on Friday when bags of ice were distributed to hundreds of residents at the Grand Bahama Red Cross Centre in Freeport.

At the Center on Jobson Avenue, Red Cross officials and volunteers distributed 3,000 bags of ice from a 20-foot container.

Crowds flocked to the centre around 1pm. For some it was the first time, they had received ice in several days.

Stephanie Barr, Grand Bahama Red Cross Administrator, said that shipment of ice was sent by the Bahamas Red Cross in New Providence, in partnership with Solomon’s in Nassau and Freeport.

“They sent us 3,000 bags of ice to distribute and bring some relief to Grand Bahama because there was no ice on the island for a long time, and we take pleasure in being able to bring some relief to our sisters and brothers in need,” she said. Ms Barr said the Red Cross will soon begin distributions of food and canned items.

“We are honoured to do this and we thank God they sent it to us. We also thank our partners, Solomon’s out of Nassau and here for their contribution,” she said.

Asked how the centre fared during the storm, Ms Barr said there was roof damage but their concern is to assist and bring relief to residents during times of crisis.

“We got some tarp, and SRA construction came and put it on for us. We are thankful for what we have and where we are at this point and will do a complete assessment later and see what we come up with. Right now our priority is to help those in need,” Ms Barr said.

Minister for Grand Bahama Dr Michael Darville said Grand Bahama was hardest hit of all islands in the Bahamas. He said they expected trailers and shipment of relief items to arrive on island on Friday.

Social and technical assessments are underway on the island, and Urban Renewal is going door-to-door to determine the needs of the residents.

“We want to find what the critical needs are and we have divided the island into different sections which we labelled red, orange-green, and green. We are going to those critically damaged areas that had flooding,” Dr Darville said.

He said that the clean-up phase is underway in all of the southern settlements, in Eight Mile Rock and West End.

Dr Darville indicated that the areas of Mack Town, Hunters, Lewis Yard and Pinder’s Point experienced winds in excess of 150mph with tornado activity, which caused significant destruction in those settlements.

“When you go in those areas there is major devastation there. A lot of the homes were not concrete structures; they were wood homes … Some people are completely displaced and that is of great concern to us, and that is why we kept the shelter open after the storm so when persons went to their homes in the day they would return to the shelter in the evening for water, a hot meal, and hot bath.”

The shelter closed its door on Friday, but Dr Darville reported that temporary housing has been provided for the 31 people who were still using the shelter.

Dr Darville noted that relocation of the residents from the southern coastal settlements of Grand Bahama is a complicated process, but is something that government has been considering.

“It is a complicated issue when we talk about moving people from generational property. We had people come in there to get estimates of the land, and it is an argument. We have been through this before and when you look at moving individuals there is so much emotion associated with the land. I had discussions with the Prime Minister, and representatives of CARICOM who had to move their coastal residents to higher ground to prevent this same thing from happening over and over. It is a complex issue, and now we are in the restoration phase where persons are requesting supplies to repair existing homes, and we have to follow suit.

“It is an issue we have to deal with sometime in the near future,” he said.