National

Bahamians on FL West Coast Facing Hurricane Ian

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Our News spoke to three Bahamians residing abroad in the direct path of the major storm.

Published

3 years ago

September 28, 2022

Marlena Leonard

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Bahamians in the west coast of the Sunshine State have done their best to hunker down as they braced for the impact of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall as a Category 4 this afternoon. We spoke to three Bahamians in the the direct path of the major storm.

Laurie Dames is in the Land O’ Lakes area and has been living in Florida for a couple of years.

Hurricane Ian is the first storm she’s experiencing as a Florida resident.

Living 20 miles from the coast, her neighborhood wasn’t under a mandatory evacuation.

So her focus was on making sure her family, who lives closer to the storm’s path was safe.

Hurricane Ian was a major storm when it swept ashore. Bring heavy rain and flooding along with powerful winds.

The weather was so severe it even caught one weather channel reporter off guard.

Fort Myers, Florida was one of the first areas to feel the brunt of the storm.

Lia Head-Rigby has battened down in the Lehigh Acres community in Fort Myers and says the Bahamians she knows are prepared.

Mark Winder is originally from Nassau, and lives with his family in Wesley Chapel, in Evacuation Zone C.

He says the almost annual near-misses of a direct hits from a hurricane caused many to not take the risk seriously initially.

He says he knows many who live closer to the beach who evacuated.