Tom Rosenbauer on The Bahamas After Hurricane Dorian

Written by: Tom Rosenbauer

Editor’s note: Tom Rosenbauer traveled to The Bahamas last month and came back with this report, which is published in Hatch magazine. The good news is that ” Grand Bahama is open for business. ”

I’ve had a long love affair with the Bahamas and with Grand Bahama Island in particular. I’ve spent many days exploring its vast bonefish habitat—from the lush, food-rich north side with its mangrove abundance to the snotty bones that prowl the achingly clear beaches on the south side. I’ve made friends. And so I agonized, sitting in the comfort of my green little bubble in Vermont, while Hurricane Dorian pummeled the Grand Bahama—especially the East End, where the storm hovered with winds of over 150 mph on September 2^nd—and stubbornly refused to move on.

The storm surge that battered the island topped 25 feet as the storm dropped three feet of rain, leaving at least 60 percent of the island submerged. In Freeport, the airport was severely damaged and the hospital and its two supermarkets were inundated. It was several days before I learned via Facebook that my friends there were safe but that the settlement of MacLean’s town, on the East End where the worst storm damage occurred, was pretty much wiped off the map. With it went two famous fishing lodges, East End Lodge and Deep Water Cay.

On Grand Bahama, 10 people lost their lives. 60 perished on Abaco. And across both islands, hundreds remain missing. . . .

Click here to read the full article in Hatch magazine.