NEWSLETTER - UPDATE #1 -- 21 SEPTEMBER 1999: Although the clean-up is well underway, and the lights and electricity are gradually coming on in most of Green Turtle and parts of Treasure Cay, Marsh Harbour, Guana Cay, Hope Town and Man-'O-War, the misery and dislocation caused by Floyd in some of the Abacos more isolated communities is huge and, unfortunately, will probably get worse before it gets better (tropical storm Harvey hasn't helped matters at all!). However, due in large part to selfless donations of time, material and 10's of thousands of dollars by hundreds and hundreds of people who know and love the Abacos (and many who have only visited these incredible islands once or twice!), the Abacos are quickly beginning to get better.
With the help of Gulfstream International Airlines, Channel 4's (WFOR) Neighbors-4-Neighbors program, the Jefferson-Pilot radio stations in South Florida as well as WIOD-AM, WINZ-AM, WQAM-AM, numerous south Florida residents, and corporations such as Stiles Corporation (Ft. Lauderdale), Broward Motorsports (Davie), Italian Seaways (Miami), Treasure Cay Services (Ft. Lauderdale), Ride Motors (Hallandale), G & G Shipping (Dania Beach), Marine Industries Association of South Florida, Florida Yacht Brokers Association, Catholic Charities (Archdiocese of Miami) and many, many others, we are beginning to make life just a little less difficult for Floyd's Abaco and Out Island victims.
This is not to say that everything will be "back to normal - business as usual" within the next few weeks. The insurance-covered Abaco hotels and resorts, almost without exception, are rebuilding and restoring as fast as is realistically possible, and almost all of them expect to be open again at the earliest possible opportunity. A few of the Abacos' resorts will actually be "back in business" in a few weeks (check the go-abacos.com/storm pages for resort re-opening information), and most of the Abacos' vacation homes, rental cottages, restaurants, stores, boat & car rentals and a myriad of other tourism-related businesses will have their pastel doors at least partially open within the next 15-45 days. Home and cottage availabilities information will also be posted on go-abacos.com/storm on a settlement-by-settlement, interactive "accommodations and update" map we're currently creating.
Unfortunately, the outlook for a difficult but do-able recovery is not quite as optomistic for many of the more remote Abaco villages on the northern and southern ends of Great Abaco. The tiny settlements of Fox Town, Crown Haven, Coopers Town and Fire Road (to the north) and Sandy Point, Cherokee, Crossing Rock and Little Harbour (to the south) were, for the most part, catastrophically impacted by Floyd's winds, storm-surge, torrential rains and general savagery.
In the days and months before Floyd, many residents of these settlements barely managed to eke out an existance as resort service workers, fishermen, hard-scrabble farmers, restaurant workers or store employees. Many of these small settlements' residents are single mothers, with all the huge responsibilities of raising children. After Floyd, these hard-working, industrious 'Conians are without homes, food, the basic necessities of life ... and, of critical importance, without jobs for the near-term future.
The Bahamas do not offer structured "government assistance" programs for the needy. There are no food stamps, FEMA or other "safety net" programs available for the dislocated and disconnected victims of Floyd. And there are no "social security" checks to replace the wages lost by temporary hotel and business closure. In short, for the vast majority of Floyd's Abaconian (and other "Out Island") victims, there is nowhere to turn for much needed help except to us - the people who know, understand, love and cherish these islands.
We have already identified many of the Abacos' "critical need pockets" in the settlements mentioned above. And we expect to find more isolated "need areas" in the near future. Although the majority of residents of the offshore cays are working 18 hours a day to re-roof, re-window, re-wire, de-salt and, in general, re-claim their homes and businesses, there are also many residents who do not have homes which can be repaired.
Our relief effort is specifically targeted at the short-, mid- and long-term needs of those who have lost the most ... and who didn't have a lot to lose in the first place. And, to help those who need help the most, we need your help in whatever way you are able.
The sense of community, of bonding together for a common cause among normally competitive hotel and business owners and many, many faceless (internet/website) people, is just astounding. The visitor traffic to this website has increased by more than 500% over the past few days, with 99% of all storm-related e-mail expressing prayers, support and a strong desire to volunteer whatever the e-writer was able to volunteer. As webmanager of go-abacos, I thank each and every site visitor for his or her honest expressions of caring and true, compassionate concern for the kind and gentle people of the Abacos.
Once again, I personally thank you, as do the rest of the members of our relief effort organization, for your thoughts, prayers, concerns, generous donations and selfless help. I look forward to delivering increasingly positive Abaco relief and rebuilding news to you in the upcoming Abaco updates - knowing the Abacos and its industrious, inventive and self-sufficient residents as I have for more than 20 years, I'm sure this will be the case.
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Abaco Relief and Rebuilding Update #2:
26 September 1999 - 9:25PMUpdate #2 contains the following information:
1.Relief/rebuilding effort overview
2.A request for additional (reliable) information and the introduction of an interactive Abaco information map <http://go-abacos.com/storm/map.html> which includes vacation facilities "reopening" updates and timeframes
3.The Bahamian government's relief effort policies
4.South Florida donation addresses for supplies, materials and financial assistance
5.Supplies still needed
6.Thanks to all the participants in our relief effort
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1.
The relief effort is starting to make a difference for the better in the lives of the folks most dislocated by the impact and influence of Floyd. Due an on-going lack of reliable information regarding Man-O-War Cay's relief and rebuilding efforts, the following update and related references focus on all the Abaco cays and settlements except this wonderful Cay. As is true of 'most all of the Abaco relief efforts, we are doing everything possible to target relief effort attention on the areas and people most in need of assistance: the Abaco settlements and cays of Fox Town, Crown Haven, Grand Cay and Coopers Town to the north, and Crossing Rock, Little Harbour, Sandy Point and Mores Island (75 percent of the Mores Island's homes are completely destroyed or uninhabitable) to the south.Electricity and phone service are still virtually non-existent in Hope Town/Elbow Cay and Guana Cay. Electricity and limited phone services have been partially restored in Green Turtle, Marsh and (to a lesser extent) Treasure Cay. Settlement by settlement information and relief/rebuilding update pages have been created on the go-abacos website <http://go-abacos.com/storm/map.html> and are accessible through an interactive Abaco map.
Marsh Harbour information keep coming in, and (as you might expect) the marinas and docks have apparently taken a major beating. The central part of town has electricity in areas, two gas stations were open as well as several hardware stores, one bank and the Golden Harvest Supermarket. The ferries are once again providing their essential services, even though their docks in Marsh Harbour are mostly destroyed.
All but one or two of the docks along Eastern Shores are entirely destroyed. Triple J Marina has ruined docks with many boats sunk or completely broken up. Royal Harbour subdivision (behind Sand Dollar Shop) has 3 large boats on land.Many of the oceanfront homes on Scotland Cay were heavily damaged or destroyed due to beach erosion, wind or water damage.
Mores Island was just about decimated ... over 75 percent of all housing on this industrious little Cay to the west of Great Abaco Island has been destroyed or is unfit for habitation. Virtually all homes in Sandy Point (western shore of Great Abaco) experienced flood damage.
And, speaking of flood damage, readers of this update may have seen the video or print images of Floyd's destruction which showed many homes to be still relatively intact (many still had their roofs and "looked" inhabitable). However, due to many, many of the Abacos' settlements' close proximity to salt water (Sea of Abaco or the Atlantic), the "invisible" damage caused by salt water flooding (and a 23 foot storm surge recorded in north Abaco) is extraordinarily. Ruined appliances as well as electrical and plumbing systems (including electrically powered well-water pumps), buckled floors, fallen walls, sagging (unsafe) roofs, ruined furniture (including bedding) ... and the list of salt water damage just goes on and on. The municipal distribution systems for electric and phones also suffered significant damage as a result of salt water incursion.
However, on a brighter (and final) note for this update, many of the Abacos public schools (including the "All Grade" schools on many Cays and Settlements) plan to reopen for students (some schools will operate on a restricted basis until repairs can be completed) as early as September 27. Amazingly enough, this includes schools in some of the hardest hit areas!
We hope to provide additional positive update information in the very near future. We offer a heartfelt thanks for your interest, concern, prayers and donations and, in the very near future, expect to offer information in this update about a long-term program to continue helping to make the Abacos just a little bit better.
Regards
Rick Graef/webmaster
rick@go-abacos.com
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2.
If you have any RELIABLE knowledge of specific relief and rebuilding efforts, or re-opening dates not included on go-abacos or in our newsletters, PLEASE send it to: reopening@go-abacos.com. While we're currently focusing on the relief/rebuilding efforts, the 6500-7000 people per month who visit the go-abacos website will be looking for rebuilding/reopening information to plan their next Abaco adventure. This repair, rebuilding and reopening information will be posted on the appropriate Cay/Settlement page regardless of whether or not a specific property is a go-abacos sponsor. You might also want to provide this information to Lori at http://www.bahamastravelnet.com, Sinclair at http://www.oii.net or any other Abaco-information resource (website) you know of (the grammer's bad, but the meaning is fairly good).
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3.
Additionally, if you are planning to bring relief supplies or donations to the Abacos (or Eleuthera), the government regulation on duty free/stamp tax free importation of materials are easy to follow, but strictly enforced as follows:PLEASE DO NOT go to the Abacos to deliver relief supplies unless you have some kind of permission, authorization or permit from The Bahamas Government or other pressing emergency reason.
You need permission, even if you just want to drop off relief supplies. Please address your faxed permission request to The Bahamas Government Hurricane Relief/ Administrator Joseph Ferguson (FAX) 242-327-5807 - Attention of Ms. Theresa Butler - Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister. On your fax, you must include who you are, where are you going, why are you bringing materials (for the relief effort), the list of items on your plane or boat, tail number of plane or boat registration ... you need an official authorization (by return fax - usually 4-5 hours) before you leave, or you may not be allowed in and/or will be charged duty on your relief supplies. The Administrator's office will forward a copy of your duty and tax waiver for your relief shipment to the customs officials at your stated destination, and the whole relief supplies and immigration process will then proceed smoothly. If you need to come in, you must bring your personal documents as well. Please check for updates, because policies will change at some point.
Additionally, as is unfortunately the case in major catastrophes, a few "less than altruistic" relief groups have also come crawling out of the woodwork so, if you're considering donation of funds or materials for the relief/rebuilding effort (or know someone who is), please make sure you have dependable knowledge of the groups or individual(s) to which/who you're donating. The relief organization of which go-abacos is a part (primary members as well as contact, financial donation and material drop-off information can be found at the end of this update) are working under Bahama government guidelines and are in contact with senior government officials on an almost daily basis.
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4.
Abaco supplies/material drop-off locations:G & G SHIPPING
750 NE Seventh Ave.
Dania Beach, FL
Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For information, please call: 954-920-0306TREASURE CAY RESORT & MARINA'S US operations office
2301 S. Federal Highway,
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316.
For information, please call: (954) 525-7711Financial donation information:
Neighbors-4-Neighbors
[CBS CHANNEL 4 - WFOR - SOUTH FLORIDA
8900 NW 18th Terrace
Miami, FL 33172
Accepting monetary donations only - 100% of all donations will be applied to BAHAMAS RELIEF. Please note BAHAMAS RELIEF on your contribution.
For information, please call: 305-597-4404.Marine Industries Association of South Florida
2312 S. Andrews Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Accepting monetary donations only - 100% of all donations will be applied to BAHAMAS RELIEF. Please note BAHAMAS RELIEF on your contribution.
For information, please call: 954-791-2600.
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5.
Supplies still needed include:
Bottled water, water containers (at least one uncontaminated water supply has been located in Treasure), non-perishable dry foods (rice, flour, grits), towels, toiletries, baby food and formula, diapers, mattresses and bedding, cooking utensils, chain saws, home siding, generators, plastic sheeting, sunscreen, gloves, bleach, rakes, mosquito spray, screening, first-aid kits, battery packs, brooms, VHF radios, canned foods, lumber, Benadryl, shovels, flashlights, construction materials including material required for roof repairs (sheet rock, plywood, shingles, roof felting, facia boards, lumber (2x4, 2x6), roof nails, tacks, hurricane clips and wiring); tarpaulin and visequeen (heavy plastic sheeting); furniture.
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6.
Many, many thanks to:
Gulfstream International Airlines (Airline President Mr. Tom Cooper and Wendy Clements); Channel 4's (WFOR) Neighbors-4-Neighbors program (Lynn Cameron and Mayte); the Jefferson-Pilot radio stations in South Florida; radio stations WIOD-AM, WINZ-AM, WQAM-AM, ZETA 94.9 FM; Stiles Corporation (Ft. Lauderdale - Terry and Theresa Stiles, Jeff Lis); Broward Motorsports (Davie - Shawn); Home Depot; Italian Seaways (Miami); Treasure Cay Services (Ft. Lauderdale - Robert and Kelly Meister); Ride Motors (Hallandale); G & G Shipping (Dania Beach); American Marine Products (Bob Sullivan); Marine Industries Association of South Florida (Maureen Anstey of Prudential Florida Realty), Florida Yacht Brokers Association (Barb Tierney of Bradford Yacht Sales), Catholic Charities (Bruce Netter - Archdiocese of Miami) and many, many other anonymous Florida residents, clubs, organizations and corporations.
NOTE TO ALL ABACO BUSINESS - mailto:rebuild@go-abacos.com - whether or not you're a go-abacos sponsor, PLEASE provide us with news of your business' occupancy/use status and, if you're "closed for repairs", please tell us when you expect to be open. Go-abacos averages (pre-Floyd) more than 7000 individual visitors per month, and these folks need to know as soon as possible when you'll be "open for business" so they can begin planning their next "Abaco Adventure". Please send all information to rebuild@go-abacos.com and we will post it as quickly as possible.
Although we are not able to guarantee that everything on our storm pages is 100% accurate, we do our best to disregard information based on rumor, hearsay and exaggeration. The information go-abacos.com currently has available on Hurricane Floyd and Floyd-related Abaco recovery and rebuilding efforts has been supplied by reliable island residents, post-storm visitors and other eye-witnesses, pilots, ZNS Radio Bahamas, Ft. Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel newspaper and Earl Russell (HAM operator in Green Turtle - he also supplied the National Hurricane Center with it's Abaco info).
