Skip to main content

Bahamas: Hurricane Dorian Situation Report No. 04 (as of 15 September 2019)

Countries
Bahamas
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

This report is produced by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) with contributions from the United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes, non-governmental organizations and humanitarian partners.

KEY POINTS

  • As of 15 September, indications are that most people in need have received assistance delivered by the humanitarian community, the private sector and through individual initiatives.

  • Authorities and humanitarian partners took steps to prepare for the potential effect of Tropical Storm Humberto with water, food and tarpaulins prepositioned.

  • Arrivals of evacuees have plateaued with some 2,071 currently in 16 official shelters where they are receiving food, water and medical assistance. Further protection, psychosocial support and sanitation services are required.

  • Access is gradually being restored to regular activity levels - all airports in Abaco are either operational or operational with limited capacity. In Grand Bahama, only one airport remains non-operational.

  • Priorities in Abaco are identifying vulnerable groups in isolated areas, scaling up access to water and fuel according to the EOC. Debris removal continues apace in Abaco and Grand Bahama.

  • Environmental risks are a key area of concern. The priorities are the assessment of exposed hazardous operations facilities to mitigate and prevent any cascading humanitarian and environmental impacts.

50 People dead, with more expected

53 Organizations responding

1.3K+ People still missing

2.1K People sheltered across 10 shelters

10K students ages (4-19) affected by Dorian

200K Cooked meals distributed

SITUATION OVERVIEW

As of 15 September, most people affected by the Hurricane have received assistance delivered by the humanitarian community, the private sector and through individual initiatives. However, pockets of people, mostly in isolated areas, who have received only limited relief support remain.

Telecommunications have been restored in most of Grand Bahama and in the main towns on Abaco. Debris have been cleared on all but a handful of roads. Damage to Abaco’s electricity infrastructure, notable in Marsh Harbour and other areas in the north, is extensive. Affected communities are relying on generators for power, which is increasing the demand for fuel, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Fixing water networks and restoring electricity to damaged buildings remain a challenge.

Two urgent priority actions signalled by the Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) on Abaco island are to identify and reach the most vulnerable groups of people that have only received limited assistance, and, increase access to food, water and fuel. In Grand Bahama, logistic support, debris removal and houses rehabilitation top the list of priority actions.

Meanwhile Search and Recovery operations led by NEMA are ongoing. Concomitantly early recovery and reconstruction efforts have started in earnest in many of the affected areas.
Fuel and water remain the biggest needs in Abaco – the Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) has deemed the water in Abaco as unsafe for potable or domestic use. Current access to water in South Abaco is mostly through piped water, with relief supplies accounting for around 10 per cent of current access. In North Abaco, water supplied by relief actors still accounts for around 60 per cent. Just over half of the water access in Grand Bahama is from piped water. Fuel is needed for pumps for wells.

With relief efforts in the Bahamas well underway, authorities and relief agencies focused efforts of the past 48 hours on preparation for the potential impact of Tropical Storm Humberto, set to pass near Abaco on 14-15 September. This included ensuring water, food and some tarpaulins prepositioning in remote areas where aid delivery had been slower to reach. A tropical storm warning is in effect for north-western Bahamas. At 12 PM on 15 September, reports indicated that the tropical storm passed east of the Bahamas producing only limited rain on Abaco. The storm brought about a slowdown in relief distribution.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force places the current death toll at 50, with more expected as search and rescue efforts advance in harder-to-reach areas where populations are more dispersed. Search and rescue efforts are still crosschecking Department of Social Services’ missing people records against registries of people sheltered and displaced people. The number of missing persons remains at 1,300.

The number of people evacuating from affected island has stabilized according to NEMA. Authorities have opened 13 shelters in New Providence currently housing some 2,078 people. The Sir Kendal Isaacs Gym is hosting 1,068 people, well over its 700-person capacity. The Grants Town SDA shelter has been deactivated. A few shelters remain open in Abaco and Grand Bahama, with six Grand Bahama shelters hosting 71 people and a single shelter in Abaco with three people. There are some people sheltered in Eleuthera, but exact figures have not yet been determined. Efforts are underway to provide necessary services at the shelters.

Access is gradually being restored to regular activity levels, although sea conditions brought on by tropical storm Humberto prompted the suspension of relief shipping until the system clears the area. The Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) maintains a Temporary Flight Restriction in effect for Grand Bahama and Abaco. All airports in Abaco are either operational or operational with limited capacity, including Leonard M. Thompson International Airport. The BCAA approved more than 900 flights to Abaco and Grand Bahama on 9-10 September, many of which have been for relief activities. In Grand Bahama, only Deep-Water Cay Airport remains non-operational. All three of Abaco’s seaports are operational as are their four marinas and docks.

Bahamas flagship carrier Bahamasair discontinued relief operations from Odyssey's terminal while continuing servicing flights from the domestic terminal at Lynden Pindling International Airport. Daily commercial flights into Freeport, Grand Bahama and Marsh Harbour, Abaco resumed on 14 and 15 September respectively at discounted fares. On September 12th the NGO flight request desk at the Odyssey Aviation terminal was discontinued. Private operators TIA and EA will continue to service charter flights to/from Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay out and Freeport respectively from Odyssey Aviation. Regarding cargo, Bahamas Fast Ferries reserves two TEUs of space per sailing for relief items.

Hospitals and clinics in Abaco are mostly functional, with the exception of the Hope Town Clinic and two clinics (Man o War Cay Clinic and Green Turtle Cay Clinic) whose operational status is unknown. In Grand Bahama, the following clinics are non-operational: West End Community Clinic, Freeport Community Centre, Free Town Clinic, High Rock Community Clinic, Pelican Point Clinic, McCleans Town Community Clinic and Sweeting’s Cay Clinic. The hospitals and clinics in Grand Bahama with full or limited operational capacity are concentrated in the western part of the island, including Rand Memorial Hospital.

Daily Civil-Military Coordination meetings have taken place in Nassau since Saturday 7 September, to help facilitate logistic support of national and foreign contingents as well as prioritizing their relief actions. The Dutch vessel Johan de Witt operating under the European Union auspices, arrived in Abaco with some 236 Dutch, French and German military personnel to support transportation, relief distribution and health assistance. The two vessels also have underwater surveillance capacities, two helicopters and around 40 ground vehicle that will support relief actors in accessing hard-toreach and remote populations across storm-damaged roads. The European team has started repairing the damaged bridge linking central and northern parts of the island and supported rehabilitation of medical facilities. British vessel Mounts Bay, which departed on the 10 September, distributed more than 25,000 litres of water, around 1,000 shelter kits as well as performed engineering tasks during its deployment, mostly on northern Abaco.

US air assets were stood down on 13 September due to tropical storm Humbert. Flights resumed on 15 September and will concentrate on hard to access areas. The Jamaican Defence Forces (JDF) continue to provide support to the ongoing tasks and building of MSU in Marsh Harbour. Trinidad and Tobago Defence Forces (TTDF) continue to support the RBDF in Grand Bahama with relief operations (food distribution, clearance of debris, repairing of public buildings). The Dominican Republic Defence Forces will arrive with a team tomorrow to support on the ongoing operations. The ‘Almirante Didiez Burgos’ vessel with aid supplies is expected to arrive on Friday 20 September.

Environmental risks are a key area of concern. The priorities are the assessment of exposed hazardous operations facilities to mitigate and prevent any cascading humanitarian and environmental impacts; and a comprehensive strategy for disaster waste management to deal with building debris, fallen trees but also hazardous waste. Further to reports of a leak at the BPL Marsh Harbour power sub-station, on 12th September the UN Environment Joint Unit surveyed the facility and followed up with BPL, the Royal Defence Force and DEHS. There is limited, windblown spill on the ground. An estimated amount of 100 to 200 k gallons of diesel fuel are currently located in the tank containment area. While this is contained, it is exposed to rain and wind with significant risk of overflow and/or wind spill. On 13th September, the Dutch Army has begun site inspection.
Based on a request from Bahamas’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Secretary-General of CARICOM and in consultation with NEMA, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the Regional Security System (RSS), the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the Royal Bahamas Police Force, 60 security personnel are being mobilized to affected areas for further security support.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, visited the Bahamas on 13 and 14 September to express deep solidarity with the Government and people of the archipelago as well as assessing what else the United Nations might be able to do to support Government-led relief operations and recovery. The Secretary-General met with Prime Minister Hibert Minnis to discuss support and the way forward in terms of reconstruction. He visited a shelter, the Sir Kendal Isaacs Gym in New Providence, where he met people displaced from Abaco as well as member of social services providing support. Mr. Guterres then flew to Abaco with a government delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs where they were briefed by NEMA staff and UN personnel supporting the EOC.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.