Paradise Lost

Hear an epic tale of survival as one of the Caribbean’s strongest hurricanes strikes The Bahamas. The government and international aid workers battle to meet the survivors’ basic needs in the chaos of the aftermath.

Duane Sands, the Minister for Health, explains that since it was struck by Dorian, the island of Grand Bahama has had to rely on a mobile, inflatable hospital complex, flown in by a US-based organization called Samaritan’s Purse. It has been set up next to the damaged hospital that used to serve Grand Bahama’s main town.

Duane Sands, the Bahamian Minister for Health, explains how the hurricane could produce health hazards long after it's passed. Its floodwater provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases. Sam McKeever, an expert from the Pan American Health Organization, and her team check their traps every day to judge the potential for an outbreak of dengue, malaria and other diseases.

For some communities in the Bahamas, fishing is the primary source of income. Now that Dorian has damaged their boats, fishers are left unable to ply their trade. A local fisherman, Joseph Thomas, leads a project that will help those who rely on fishing to rebuild their lives. Over $10,000-worth of materials have been donated by an international NGO so that Joseph and his team can repair boats.

On Abaco, one of the islands worst-affected by Hurricane Dorian, Juliet Deal from the UNDP heads up cash-for-work schemes so that local people who have lost their jobs can be paid to rehabilitate schools and infrastructure. This helps get the economy up-and-running, both by injecting income and, in the long term, by allowing children to return to school and families to return home.