The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

A MOTHER and her one-year-old daughter were forced to seek refuge in their car after Dorian's furious gusts blew off the roof of their Spring City, Abaco, home and the walls caved in all around them.

Ostina Dean, who spoke with The Tribune after being evacuated to New Providence, said a tree uprooted from her neighbour's yard and slammed through her home.

Mrs Dean said: "The tree made its way in the house, in through the front window, out through the back. After that happened, immediately the roof went up and the walls started to fall in. The only thing we can do is run. We had a car parked in the backyard in the corner of the house and that's where we spent the duration of the storm.

"We waited for the eye not sure if that ever came, but as soon as the weather calmed down enough for us to get out of the car. We went over to the shelter that was very close and that's where the entirety of Spring City stayed until the storm had passed."

Mrs Dean said she felt like she was in the film "San Andreas", but she had to protect her daughter.

"(This experience) was different...we had hurricane, we had tornados and I want to say that we had tidal waves," she said.

"I was scared but something kicked in and I had my baby and she can't fend for herself and that's what kept me going. That was my motivation, my baby…my child is not going out like this."

Despite losing everything Mrs Dean is "grateful for the humbling experience".

She said: "I'm good, you can get material things back, when you die you can't carry them with you. I've learnt a long time not to hold material things close to my heart. The only thing that matter is life.

"You have to be grateful for the little that you have. A lot of people didn't make it out the storm with their mother, father or children. I went back and looked at myself and said, 'look at my house' and I could have been saying 'look at my baby.'"

Evacuee Justin Thompson told The Tribune no one would have survived Hurricane Dorian if it lasted "one more hour".

The Category Five storm lashed Abaco with winds more than 185mph for nearly a day.

Mr Thompson said: "I've never experienced nothing like that in my life. When the storm first came, we were all inside and it was ok. The first few minutes were alright until the plywood off our apartment started to go. The eye came over and we had time to batten up the windows properly and when the tail end of the storm came around it was like something I never experienced.

"It was like the building was rattling and we watched the roof lift up and just go. The only other shelter was the closet or the bathroom and one more hour I don't believe I would have been here."

Mr Thompson said he and his roommate were "very afraid" and the only thing they could have done was pray.

"My roommate and I huddled in the corner and we prayed. We just hoped and prayed to God and asked him to get us through this. That was very devastating," he explained.

"I lost everything, but I had one or two bags of clothes that's all I really saved everything else got flooded, the place got flooded so I really didn't save anything else."