PM: “This Nation Stands With You Today, and Everyday”

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Today, seven years after hurricane dorian devastated Abaco and Grand Bahama, The Bahamas is still remembering the lives lost and the communities forever changed.

Prime Minister Philip Davis stepped away from his weekly cabinet meeting Tuesday, to mark the anniversary and remember those whose lives were changed by the storm.

Philip Davis – Prime Minister

“We remember the survivors, those who endure the unimaginable, and then began again with little left to call their own.”

Seven years later, the recovery continues in Abaco, as communities have risen again.

The cays, including Elbow Cay, Green Turtle Cay and Great Guana Cay, have seen significant rebuilding, with homes and businesses returning, and some operating at or above pre-storm levels.

Resorts like Baker’s Bay have also rebuilt, bringing new construction, investment, and employment opportunities.

Small businesses too are finding their footing again.

Bahamas Power and Light has restored about 92% of its pre-Dorian customer base, while the government continues work on new solar and LNG generation.

However, the rebuilding is far from complete, as Treasure Cay Resort remains closed, with plans for its redevelopment in the works.

Also, some roads still need more than temporary patches, with comprehensive repaving and proper highway reconstruction still needed.

In Grand Bahama, the Harold De’Gregory government complex has been fully restored and reopened.

Major residential restoration projects have also taken place, with nonprofit organizations including rotaract helping to repair homes across the island.

However, to understand just how far these islands have come, you have to go back to where it all began.

On September 1st, 2019, Abaco woke up to a storm that would soon become a nightmare.

In the days before Dorian arrived, then-prime minister Dr. Hubert Minnis urged residents to take the hurricane seriously.

Airlines added flights to help people leave the northern islands, and on August 31st, Minnis made one final plea for residents to evacuate.

Then, Dorian arrived, a category five hurricane, with winds reaching 185 miles per hour.

In Abaco, a storm surge of more than 20 feet rolled through communities, swallowing homes, businesses, and everything in its path.

Neighborhoods disappeared under water, families were separated, and by late Sunday night, Dorian finally began to move away from Abaco.

However, it wasn’t over, as the storm turned toward Grand Bahama, moving at just five to six miles per hour, and when it arrived, it barely moved.

For two days Grand Bahama sat under the wrath of Dorian, and for the people who lived through it, the hours seemed to stand still.

When the storm finally passed, so much of what people knew was gone.

Hundreds of people were still missing, making it impossible to establish an immediate confirmed death toll.

Even as the world came to help, people still had to figure out how to start again, and seven years later, That rebuilding is still the story.

The homes may be back, the businesses may be open, the roads may be busier, but for many who lived through Dorian, September 1st is a day that never really left them.