CARICOM Assessment Team Views Ragged Island After Hurricane Irma

#Bahamas, September 20, 2017 – Ragged Island – Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon. Darren Henfield led a delegation to Duncan Town, Ragged Island, on September 16, 2017, so that regional partners could see firsthand the damage raged on the island by Category-5 Hurricane Irma.

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman and Grenada Prime Minister Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell and CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque joined other senior CARICOM officials as they rode on trucks and spoke to residents, Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers and disaster responders stationed on the island.

Among the Bahamian officials in the delegation were Minister of Labour, Sen. the Hon. Dion Foulkes; Foreign Affairs Acting Permanent Secretary Donna Lowe; Bahamas Ambassador-Designate to CARICOM His Excellency Reuben Rahming; Director-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sharon Brennen-Haylock; and National Emergency Management Agency Director Captain Stephen Russell.

Among the damaged properties they inspected were the police station, the “fish house” where thousands of dollars of seafood was stored, government administrative facilities, and a number of private residents — some of which were flattened by the hurricane.

One resident in particular, 53-year-old Mr. Terence Wallace told the delegation about his riding out the storm.    He pointed out that the house that he lived in was leveled by Hurricane Irma’s winds, as the eye passed over the island.

“I came here by my cuz to be safe,” he said, as he gestured towards a concrete block home next to the destroyed “fish house.”

He also showed Ambassador LaRocque his family’s pigeon house and smiled at the Ambassador’s amazement at the fact the birds rode out the storm in their facility.

“The birds, they know what to do,” Mr. Wallace said quietly.

By: Eric Rose

PHOTO CAPTIONS

Header Photo:  Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon. Darren Henfield (left) speaks, on September 16, 2017, as (from second left) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman and Grenada Prime Minister Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, Minister of Labour Sen. the Hon. Dion Foulkes and Bahamas Ambassador-Designate to CARICOM His Excellency Reuben Rahming listen, during a delegation visit to Ragged Island to see firsthand the damaged raged by Hurricane Irma.  (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)

Insert 1: Remnants of a home and its contents after Hurricane Irma’s rampage through Duncan Town, Ragged Island.  (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)

Insert 2:  A number of delegation members traveling on a truck, on September 16, 2017, to see firsthand the damage caused by Hurricane Irma on Ragged Island.  (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)

Insert 3:  Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, His Excellency, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque (left) speaks, on September 16, 2017, with 53-year-old resident Mr. Terence Wallace, concerning his ordeal during the passage of Hurricane Irma over Ragged Island.  (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)