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News : Bahamas Information Services Updates Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


PM House Communication on Hurricane Matthew
Oct 20, 2016 - 11:55:52 AM

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Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)

Mr. Speaker:

I rise to report to The House on the impact of "Hurricane Matthew‟, the 13th named storm of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Fortunately, the majority of our Family Islands sustained no major damage. This was a relief, particularly for those islands which were impacted last year by Hurricane Joaquin. However, „Hurricane Matthew‟ caused, and left in its wake, widespread devastation, particularly on the islands of New Providence, North Andros and Grand Bahama. Much of this communication, therefore, will focus on these islands.

Before beginning its assault on The Bahamas, "Hurricane Matthew‟ impacted Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba, and we extend our sympathy to the Government and People of these countries. Our hearts go out especially to the people of Haiti, where there was considerable loss of life. Here in The Bahamas, we are extremely fortunate that there was no loss of life from "Hurricane Matthew‟, but sadly, during the hurricane, a resident of North Andros suffered an apparent heart attack and died. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his friends and family.

Mr. Speaker:

"Hurricane Matthew‟, traversed the Commonwealth of the Bahamas from October 4th to 6th, 2016. During that time, it was variously classified as a "Category 3‟ or "Category 4‟ Hurricane, reporting maximum sustained winds of around 135mph.

At 6.00 pm on Saturday 1st October, 2016 the first alert was issued by the Bahamas Department of Meteorology. It stated that the entire Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands were under a Hurricane Alert. At this time Hurricane Matthew was about 600 miles south-southeast of Ragged Island, and 837 miles south-southeast of New Providence.

In the following days, there were forty-six Hurricane Alerts issued in total on Hurricane Matthew. The initial Alert was upgraded to a „Hurricane Watch‟ for the southeastern Bahamas at 6.00am on Sunday 2nd October, and further increased to Hurricane Warnings at 2.00am on Monday 3rd October.

The series of Hurricane Alerts, Watches and Warnings progressed up the archipelago as Hurricane Matthew pursued its northwestern path up our chain of islands.

At 6:00 am on Tuesday 4th October, Hurricane Warnings were issued for the Northwest Bahamas. This Warning placed the entire Bahamas under Hurricane Warnings. At the same time the Hurricane Warnings for the Turks and Caicos Islands were downgraded to Tropical Storm Warnings.

At 9.00am on Thursday 6th October, Hurricane Warnings were discontinued for the Southeast Bahamas and the All Clear given while Hurricane Warnings remained in effect for the Central and Northwest Bahamas.

At 6.00pm on Thursday 6th October, Hurricane Warnings were discontinued for the Central Bahamas and the All Clear given while Hurricane Warnings remained in effect for the Northwest Bahamas.

At 9.00am on Friday 7th October, Hurricane Warnings were discontinued for the Northwest Bahamas and the All Clear was given for the entire Bahamas.
According to The Bahamas Meteorological Department, on Thursday 6th October, 2016 around 8.00am, the center of Matthew passed about 31 miles north-northeast of Kemps Bay, South Andros, 27 miles southeast of Fresh Creek Central Andros, 52 miles southeast of Nicholl's Town North Andros, and 30 miles south-southwest of New Providence.

Around noon, The Bahamas Department of Meteorology‟s Doppler Radar, indicated that the eye of Matthew was between Andros and New Providence, and that the most intense portion of its eye-wall would batter the two islands from about 1pm and last for approximately three hours.

Around 2.00pm, dangerous Hurricane Matthew moved toward the northwest, and passed over the Berry Islands, with maximum sustained winds of around 140 miles per hour.

Later in the afternoon around 6.00pm, Matthew headed towards Western Grand Bahama, and around 8.00pm, the eye passed over the western tip of Grand Bahama with ferocious winds of 140 miles per hour.

In addition to the heavy winds and rainfall, the Met Department indicated that storm surges of up to 10 feet inundated the southern shores of New Providence and Grand Bahama, while the east coast of Andros Island also experienced large and powerful storm surges.

Mr. Speaker:

On Friday, October 7th 2016, I had the opportunity to briefly tour a portion of the southwestern part of New Providence, which had been subjected to extensive flooding.

I was also able to undertake a flyover of Grand Bahama and North Andros, which gave a stark indication of the extent of the devastation left by Hurricane Matthew.

On Saturday morning, October 8th, 2016, I led a team on-board a Bahamasair charter, firstly to North Andros and then onto Grand Bahama. The team comprised of several Cabinet Ministers, including the Hon. Shane Gibson, Minister of Housing & National Insurance, who has been delegated Ministerial responsibility for Hurricane Matthew Relief and Reconstruction, the Hon. Melanie Griffin, Minster of Social Services and Community Development, the Hon. Allison Maynard-Gibson, Attorney General; the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology and Dr. Perry Gomez, Minister of Health. Other members of the delegation included Dr. Hubert Minnis, Leader of the Official Opposition; Commodore Tellis Bethel, Acting Commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force; Captain Stephen Russell, Director, NEMA; Dr. Ranford Patterson, President of The Bahamas Christian Council, heads of religious denominations and senior public officers.

In North Andros, we visited the settlement of Lowe Sound, where we saw buildings and homes that had been extensively damaged. This had resulted in a number of people being left homeless. In Grand Bahama, we were able to visit West End and surrounding settlements. Along the shore road in West End, virtually every single building had suffered significant damage.

Simultaneously, a team of public officers travelled to North Andros on a Flamingo Air charter. They were able to conduct an intense rapid assessment, to assess the damage to infrastructure, to determine the number of people displaced, and to determine how quickly life could be returned to some sense of normalcy in the shortest possible time. Another Flamingo Air charter delivered essential supplies to North Andros including food, water and baby items supplied by NEMA.

NEMA has also commenced the mobilization of officials to the most-significantly impacted areas on New Providence, specifically Marshall Road, Misty Gardens, Pastel Gardens and other areas along the south and southwestern shores to commence damage assessments.

Mr. Speaker:

You will recall that in my "Statement to The House‟ on Wednesday 5th October, I described the advent of Hurricane Matthew as “a large, violent and dangerous weather system, which has the potential to cause catastrophic damage to parts of our country.” In a series of public statements, I urged everyone in the affected areas to either move away, or to seek shelter as necessary. Thankfully, many heeded the warning, and moved in with friends or family, or into one of the public, Hurricane Shelters.

In New Providence, twenty-two shelters accommodated 2,159 people. The "Hillview Seventh-Day Adventist Church‟ on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway, sheltered 352 people, the largest number of persons accommodated. „St. Mary's Hall‟ at St. Augustine's Monastery, accommodated 330 people, the second-largest group to be sheltered. The third largest group – 260 people - was accommodated at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

After the “All Clear” was given on Friday, October 7th, thirty families remained at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium shelter, as they were either unable to access their homes or their homes were badly damaged. These ranged from a single household to a twelve-member household and included twenty-one men, thirty-five women and forty-eight children.

The National Sporting Authority provided meals for the first two days, and thereafter, the Department of Social Services provided meals until the facility was closed at noon on Thursday, October 13th. The Department of Social Services was required to arrange temporary accommodations for thirteen families whose homes were badly damaged and who were unable to make any arrangements for alternative accommodations.

In the Family Islands, hurricane shelters were opened on seventeen islands and a total of 2,612 persons accommodated. The largest number of persons sheltered was in Grand Bahama, 685, followed by Abaco (618).

DISPLACED PERSONS

A number of people have been displaced due to "Hurricane Matthew‟. In New Providence, The Department of Social Services has arranged temporary accommodation for twenty-eight, families comprising a total of eighty-seven people.

Fifteen families, who were sheltered at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, were unable to return to their homes because of the damage sustained.

Four of the eighty-seven people in temporary accommodation are from Acklins, and two others, both Senior citizens, are from Long Island. Those from Acklins and Long Island were evacuated before the arrival of the hurricane.

In North Andros, a total of eighty-four families comprising of three hundred and two (302) persons - 174 adults & 128 children - have been displaced due to damage and/or destruction to their homes. The breakdown of families by settlement is as follows: 70 in Lowe Sound, 6 in Mastic Point, 5 in Nicholl‟s Town, 2 in Conch Sound, and 1 in Fire Road.

Of these families, 56 were relocated to family or friends, 13 were accommodated in Guest Houses, 2 were relocated to New Providence, 1 was relocated to a new house, 5 families are awaiting placement, and 7 families are refusing to relocate.

In Grand Bahama, The Department of Social Services is providing temporary shelter for seventy-one persons who remained in shelters after the “All Clear” was given, the majority of whom are from the Pinder's Point and Lewis Yard area

RESPONSE ACTIVITIES

Given the magnitude of the damage sustained on the two islands where our principal cities of Nassau and Freeport are located, as well as North Andros, there is need for a strong, coordinated approach to the relief and recovery effort. As indicated previously, the Hon. Shane Gibson has been designated responsibility for Hurricane Matthew Relief and Recovery and he is being supported by Permanent Secretary Jack Thompson. They are being supported by a team which includes a Co-ordinator each for Grand Bahama and North Andros and locally based Co-ordinators in Grand Bahama and North Andros.

As has been the case with previous hurricanes, the Government will provide relief to those in need. As of Monday, October 17th, the Government has provided a quantity of food, sanitary supplies, baby items and insect repellent to North and Central Andros to the value of $39,439. The first shipment was sent in Saturday, October 8th, by a charter flight and further supplies were transported by the Royal Bahama Defence Force vessels. A large quantity of water has also been provided to North and Central Andros. Additionally, other items including hygiene kits and plastic sheeting have been provided to North Andros.

Mr. Speaker:

The enormity of the impact of Hurricane Matthew must be measured against the reality that this hurricane impacted the two most populous islands in our archipelago, New Providence and Grand Bahama where approximately two thirds of the population of our country resides. The immediate social and humane response had to therefore take into account the provision of hot meals for hundreds of persons who had nowhere else to turn. At the same time the prolonged power outages in many areas meant that shops and restaurants could not immediately re-open and so food distribution centres had to be set up for those in urgent need of food. Many of these centres are still operating. This has been supplemented by “in kind” humanitarian gestures from the Red Cross and other humanitarian groups, including churches and corporate individuals.

In New Providence plastic sheeting has been distributed to several hundred residents in New Providence and the Department of Social Services is assisting persons through its food assistance progammes in both New Providence and Grand Bahama.

Additionally, the Government will also provide assistance with house repairs to needy, qualified homeowners with both labour and materials or materials only for these homeowners who are able to undertake their own repairs and these will be determined once the assessments have been completed. Additionally, provisions are being made for public officers to access low interest loans to undertake repairs to their homes. A number of persons with insurance coverage have expressed concern about and challenges in meeting the required deductible. The Government is exploring options to assist such persons and well as landlords who have having difficulty undertaking the repairs including the possibility of low interest loans.

Technical officers from the various Ministries and Departments commenced assessments of homes in New Providence, North Andros and Grand Bahama immediately following the passage of Hurricane Matthew. The Department of Social Services dispatched four (4) social workers from New Providence to North Andros on Saturday, October 8, and eight (8) workers to Grand Bahama to assist the local staff with conducting assessments.

In an effort to ensure a more coordinated approach, it was determined that the Urban Renewal model be utilized in New Providence for the assessment process. Teams at the existing Urban Renewal Centres have been strengthened and, where no Urban Renewal Office exists, teams have been established in constituencies as follows:

• A Police officer,

• Social worker,

• Technical officer,

• Urban Renewal officer,

• Constituency Representative

• Department of Environmental Health Services Officer

These teams commenced door-to-door assessments in the respective constituencies with effect from Monday, October 17th, 2016.

Assessments are in progress in both Grand Bahama and North Andros by the relevant technical officers. As of Monday, October 17th, 905 social assessments were completed in various communities on Grand Bahama, and according to the preliminary report, 48 of the homes assessed thus far have been destroyed, 407 received major damage and 387 received minor damages. The Department of Social Services has sent additional social workers to Grand Bahama to assist with the assessments.

In North Andros, social assessments have been completed to date and more detailed information on damage assessment to private homes will be available shortly...

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