Cat Island Couple: We Don’t Know What We Will Meet When We Get Home

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Nearly a week after Hurricane Melissa battered parts of the Southern Bahamas, one Cat Island couple is finally heading home, unsure of what they’ll find when they get there.

Alex and Janet Farrington say they left Cat Island for a short vacation in New Providence before the storm hit, but after days of silence and no updates on their home, worry has started to set in.

“That’s a big thing right there because in Cat Island now, in the north, it’s all flooded,” Alex said. “So I don’t know if my house flooded. I don’t know what I’m going home to.”

We met the pair at Potter’s Cay Dock as they prepared to board a mailboat for the long journey back, a 20-hour trip with one stop in Exuma.

Alex admits he’s expecting some damage, especially from flooding, but says communication during and after the storm made things worse.

“I know the home is spared, but we are looking at water damage now,” he explained. “So we don’t know what we going home to. Communication was a big breakdown.”

While Long Island took the brunt of Hurricane Melissa, islands like Cat Island, Inagua, Crooked Island, and Acklins also suffered severe flooding.

Still, the Farringtons are remaining positive. Alex, a carpenter by trade, says he’s ready to rebuild if needed, though getting materials may prove to be a challenge.

“It ain’t no problem because I’m a carpenter by trade,” he said. “Just finding material from Nassau to Cat Island might be the problem.”