Not long before nightfall on September 1, Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Great Abaco island in the northern Bahamas as the strongest hurricane ever to strike the island nation of almost 400,000. For roughly two days, Dorian virtually stalled, thrashing the Bahamian islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama with unrelenting winds, rain and storm surge. The devastation on Abaco left in Dorian's wake has been called "catastrophic," "absolute" and "pure hell."
A week later, the residents of the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama are still trying to understand the scope of Dorian's impact. Estimates suggest that half the homes on Abaco and three quarters of all homes on Grand Bahama may have been destroyed. And the storm's death toll keeps climbing as responders, residents and others continue to pull the corpses of neighbors and loved ones from beneath the wreckage.
The images of Dorian's devastation that continue to emerge from Abaco are difficult to take in, but they are an invaluable tool for helping to understand both the power of nature's wrath and the ongoing and intensifying humanitarian crisis facing the people of the Bahamas.
Locals take shelter at the Abaco Government Complex, using trees to dry wet belongings (photo: Dan Zazworsky @dan.zaz).
For tourists and anglers that have visited Abaco to tan on its sun-baked, white sand beaches or ply its crystal clear saltwater flats for bonefish and other quarry, these images portray a version of Abaco that is unrecognizable.
For Abaco's residents, what has been left in ruin is more than vacation destination. It's home. At least, it was. A week after Dorian, an estimated 70,000 have been left homeless. On Abaco, the death toll has already climbed to 44, though officials expect that number to climb dramatically.
The road ahead for the residents of Abaco and Grand Bahamas is long and costly one. Your help is needed.
