hurricane

Six years after Hurricane Dorian, one body still lies unclaimed in the Grand Bahama morgue.

The Ministry of Health confirmed the remains couldn’t be identified despite police forensic work.

Opposition Leader Michael Pintard called it hypocrisy, the same government that once accused the Hubert Minnis administration of negligence now faces the same problem.

But beyond politics lies a deeper question — how can a nation rebuild if its victims are still unburied?

The monster storm destroyed parts of Abaco and Grand Bahama, with hundreds of lives lost, and some remain missing. A mass burial was held for the victims, and all bodies found were thought to be buried.

Barri Bethel Thomas, who lost her husband and three children in the storm, questioned whether or not the body could be her relatives. She said she took a DNA test six years ago.

In a social media post in August, on the sixth anniversary, she recalled the fateful day, “The smell of Hurricane Dorian still lingers in my nose. I remember with unbearable clarity, watching as the 50 to 60-foot ocean swallowed my beloved family. The last words I heard from my husband were, “Lord help my family…I can still hear my babies screaming and crying out for their dad.”

Over these six years, I’ve fought some of the hardest battles of my life. I fought for the remains of my family, I never received them.”

The bottom line

Dorian’s wounds remain open, long after the storm passed. It now raises questions about accountability.

Featured images: The Atlantic and ABC News

As Category 5 Hurricane Milton churns toward Florida, the Bahamas is under a tropical storm warning beginning early Thursday morning, significantly impacting the northern islands—Abaco, Grand Bahama and Bimini.

Florida is expected to experience fierce a hurricane with a direct hit to Tampa and St Petersburg with tall surges and floodings.

Though the Bahamas is not in the direct pathway of the ferocious hurricane, these islands will experience adverse effects in the next 36 hours.

“Do all you can to stay safe,” Prime Minister Philip Davis warned at a press conference on Tuesday evening. “Prepare now.”

The Bahamas is on the outer peripherals of the hurricane and will experience tropical-force winds. New Providence, Eleuthera and Andros will experience winds, extensive floodings and heavy rainfalls.

Davis announced the closure of schools on these islands and urged residents to prepare.

Meteorologists predict Grand Bahama and Abaco will experience winds and ‘squally’ conditions while Bimini will get gust winds.

Hurricane Milton had weakened to a Category 4 storm but strengthened again to a Category 5 storm Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Its wind speeds have increased past the Category 5 threshold. The storm is located about 480 miles (775 kilometers) from Tampa as of about 5 p.m. EDT, and has sustained wind speeds of 165 mph (270 kph), the hurricane center said. The hurricane center also extended a storm surge and hurricane warnings on Florida and Georgia’s east coasts.

Tropical storm-force winds will accompany the storm because Milton is considered a large hurricane. Winds are predicted to cause widespread damage to property and trees and leave millions without electricity across Florida.

An extreme flash flood risk — the highest level — is in effect for Tampa to Orlando to Daytona.

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday as a category 4 hurricane, with effects on the Bahamas.

Some Bahamians studying in Florida, returned to the Bahamas last night to escape the intensity and danger of this hurricane after battling Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago, which caused damage to the area.

As Florida prepares, Milton is expected to pass through the northern Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday, urging Education officials to close Abaco, Grand Bahama and Bimini schools.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force has also urged its personnel to return to post in expectation of the effects of the destructive storm.

Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents that “time is running out” to evacuate, while Mayor Jane Castor said it could be “literally catastrophic.”

What to know about Hurricane Milton

• Milton weakened from a category 5 to a category 4 and is continuing toward Florida making landfall between Tampa and Fort Myers.
• Hurricane Milton can pose a grave danger to Florida and has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency for 51 of Florida’s 67 counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties.
• Expect life-threatening storm surges, widespread heavy winds, flooding rainfall, and tornadoes beginning Wednesday.
• A tropical storm warning has been issued for the southeast coast of Florida south of the Indian River/St. Lucie County Line to Flamingo in the Everglades National Park, and for the northeast coast of Florida north of Ponte Vedra Beach to the mouth of the St. Mary’s River.
• The hurricane is centered 545 miles southwest of Tampa and packs 150 mph winds as of 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
• Milton has grown in size over the last 24 hours and is expected to grow larger on approach to Florida, affecting a big area of Florida.

Bahamian Laurie Dames living in Tampa, told the Nassau Guardian, that she and her family were preparing to evacuate to Tallahassee early Tuesday morning, to beat Milton’s arrival.

“People are trying to get out of Tampa and it’s pretty much bumper to bumper right now. We’re going to have to live with that and just get on the road,” she said. “This is the first time in a while that I’ve seen this amount of people taking it this serious this quickly. The service stations are full, the food stores are full, and the traffic is bad.”

However, another Bahamian living in Wesley Chapel, Tampa, Chandell Morley, said she will remain home “because I live further inland and where I live it’s over 70 feet above sea level.”

“Right now, I’m a bit nervous because we just don’t know what to expect,” she said.

She plans to pack a bag to stay at a shelter if needed.

Hurricane Beryl turned out to be a powerful storm, killing two people and leaving trails of destruction in southern Jamaica.

Powerlines were down and hundreds of residents were left homeless as Beryl churns toward the Cayman Islands and Mexico.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force told NBC News that a 26-year-old man was swept away in floodwaters in Kingston and it is trying to recover another man who too was swept away.

“He was playing football with friends at the mini stadium when the ball went outside, and he attempted to retrieve it,” police said.

Photos credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Caribbean is on high alert as Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in the region causing loss of roofs, extensive storm surges, and damage to buildings.

It increased from a tropical storm to a category four hurricane in just 48 hours which is unusual for this time of year. Experts believe abnormally warm waters are fueling the storm.

Carriacou, Grenada

Barbados

The Southern Grenadines and Union Islands in St Vincent and the Grenadines

Photo credits: Barbados National News, Ralph Gonsalves FB, NBC Radio St Vincent and the Grenadines FB

Tropical Storm Nicole is strengthening and can become a hurricane when it reaches the northern Bahamas, meteorologists warned.

Abaco and Grand Bahama are in the direct pathway of the storm and are under hurricane watch, while Andros, New Providence, the Berry Islands and Eleuthera are expected to feel the effects of the storm which is packing 45-mile-per-hour winds.

Nicole is predicted to reach the northwestern Bahamas on Tuesday and move over those islands on Wednesday. Up to six inches of rain was expected across the region from Tuesday through Thursday.

The storm will then head toward Florida’s east coast by Wednesday night.

In preparation, the government issued a hurricane watch for the northwestern Bahamas, according to an advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper urged residents to prepare. “Please do not take this storm lightly.

“Nicole poses an imminent threat to the islands under warning. Everyone must prepare for the worst.”

Forecasters ran out of the traditional hurricane names like Arthur and Laura and have resorted to the Greek alphabet for the remainder of the hurricane season.

So expect to hear names like Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon.

The busy 2020 hurricane season has used all of the names in the English alphabet.

Just Friday, meteorologists said three hurricanes formed, bringing to end the traditional names. The three new storms are the last traditional name Wilma, and the new Greek names–Alpha and Beta.

Is this the first time forecasters have used the Greek Alphabet?

No, it has happened in 2005. This is only the second time this has happened.

The quick tropical storm formations on Friday prompted forecasters to tweet “get out the Greek alphabet.”

“It’s crazy,” said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy to AP. “This is just off the charts. We’ve made a joke of breaking records.”

Forecasters said the 2020 hurricane season’s first two Greek storms Alpha and Beta formed more than a month earlier than the 2005 hurricane season. Tropical Storm Alpha developed on Oct. 22, 2005 and Hurricane Beta first became a tropical storm on Oct. 27, 2005.

The 2005 hurricane season used only six Greek alphabet names. The last storm of that season, Zeta, did not dissipate until early January 2006. Beta and Epsilon became hurricanes.

Isaias is the ninth tropical storm and the second hurricane in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. As it barrels through the Bahamas, the pronunciation seems unclear as newscasters and citizens alike have presented different versions of the pronunciation.

What should we expect? Isaias is believed to be the Spanish and Portuguese version, and we are an English speaking country.

The English version is “Isaiah,” meaning “God is my salvation.”

Isaias, pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs, arrived in the Bahamas as a category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, lashing the island of Andros and now bearing over Grand Bahama.

Before crawling to the Bahamas, It travelled through Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic where it caused flooding, power outages, toppled trees, destroyed homes and crops and created small landslides.One man died in the Dominican Republic.

In Puerto Rico, it swept away one woman, whose body was recovered Saturday, before National Guard could rescue nearly 35 people from floodwaters.

The pronunciation of the name has not been clear to non-Hispanic speakers.

Politicians have refused to pronounce the name and have referred to it as “the hurricane.” And broadcasters have said various versions of the pronunciation.

Here is how to pronounce Isaias:

The next storm name in the Atlantic Hurricane Season will be… #Isaias (pronounced [ess-ah-EE-ahs]. Here is a short video of how to properly pronounce it. #Spanish pic.twitter.com/g60ckwOLS6

— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) July 27, 2020