Grand Bahama Submerged By Frances - Claims May Be "Astronomical" - Reuters

[hatrack]

NASSAU, Bahamas - "Hundreds of Bahamians remained in storm shelters this week after Hurricane Frances swatted the Caribbean island chain with winds in excess of 105 mph (170 kph).

Standing ankle-deep in water outside her home, 70-year-old Grand Bahama island resident Rowena Saunders spoke for many.
"We lost every single thing," she said. "We couldn't save anything at all. All my china, furniture - everything is just gone."

Prime Minister Perry Christie toured the storm-wrecked community of West End, Grand Bahama, on Monday and said residents in the second largest community in the 700-island nation were in a state of "utter dismay and shock." Vast areas of Grand Bahama - the island hardest-hit by Frances - remain under several feet of water and insurers fear what one agent described as "astronomical" claims.

"The damage in West End we could not even have imagined," said Christie. "We've seen this kind of damage after major events around the world, but on the road bordering the sea every building has been virtually destroyed."

EDIT

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/27028/story.htm

[phantom power]

1. People need to recalibrate their imaginations.

"The damage in West End we could not even have imagined"

I hear that a lot regarding weather. "Unimaginable." "Unthinkable."

It's time for people to grow up and quit pretending that these things aren't going to happen. Extreme weather has happened before. It will happen again. And we've been aware of this for several decades, now.

[SoCalDem]

2. We will soon find out just how much the Bahamians are regarded

by the rich hoteliers who have used their services and overrun their gorgeous little piece of paradise..

It seems as though they look at these places as great places to hog all the beach access, in exchange for jobs. but I walways wonder if they have done such a favor for the locals..

before the hotels, these people did subsistence agriculture, captured rainwater for their family use, fished, and mainly just lived a laid back life.. They had small populations, and there was plenty for everyone, and once they decided to "go tourist", they sold a bit of their souls to that devil..

We saw this in Tahiti.. In the areas that are not as touristy, the locals live very easygoing lives, and in the areas that have all the big hotels, the kids attend school mainly so they can grow up to be hotel maids :( gardeners:( and waitresses:(...

I wish them well, and hope that they can get some real help from their employers..