The Tribune

THE shadow of Hurricane Dorian looms large over The Bahamas. In recent days, with the fifth anniversary of the hurricane’s impact on Abaco and Grand Bahama, that shadow has seemed longer than ever.

We have heard stories of people still living in trailers and domes long past their temporary nature, we have heard of people still living in shacks that would fail to stand up to a strong gust let alone a hurricane-force wind, we have heard of people still trying to complete repairs, people still missing those they have lost, people struggling to get by, one day at a time.

We have also heard success stories, to be fair. There are schools reopening, there are repairs near complete in some communities.

But what cannot be denied is that Hurricane Dorian was a force that impacted our nation deeply, both in physical terms and in emotional terms. It was a hammer blow. Families can say the names of those they lost. Some are still left unresolved about people who went missing.

In economic terms, Dorian exceeded the combined impacts of Hurricanes Joaquin, Matthew and Irma. The official figure is $3.4 billion in damages. A number of estimates go higher, but that is the number the Inter-American Development Bank came to, which was more than a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product.

The damage was huge. The cost immense. The personal loss immeasurable.

Given all of that, it is remarkable that we have not conducted extensive investigations into how we could have done things differently – before, during and after the storm. It is astonishing that there has not been thorough public discussion of what we could learn from such an event, instead of just building back up again and hoping the next one misses.

FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands says that he supports suggestions of a commission of inquiry into Hurricane Dorian-related deaths.

The suggestion itself? Well, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis put that forward. He was not prime minister at the time, but rather the leader of the opposition. Since his elevation to leader of the nation, talk of the inquiry has muted.

At the time, he wanted an independent inquiry either by police or through a commission to determine the fate of those missing after the storm.

A lot of different numbers circulated after the storm – Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said 279 missing, Assistant Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash said 33. How those were counted and who was included or excluded to arrive at different numbers is an open question.

Central and South Abaco MP John Pinder has previously expressed support for such an inquiry, saying the number of deaths is substantially more than the number publicly confirmed.

In September last year, he said it would be beneficial “to know the exact extent of the lives lost and the hurdles that came in terms of getting assistance and help to the northern islands in a timely fashion”.

He is right. Dr Sands is right. Mr Davis was right in opposition.

Hurricane Dorian had a horrific impact on our nation. We hear in the talk of climate change that storms are becoming more frequent and stronger. Why wouldn’t we want to learn from what happened so that we can prepare better for the future – and so we can lay the bill at the feet of the nations most responsible for climate change to boot?

There are more than 70 reasons in particular why we should conduct such an inquiry – the number of people whose lives were lost in the storm.

We have everything to learn from such an inquiry. Why would we not do so?