Bahamians brace for another storm
Tropical Depression Nine formed near the Bahamas on Friday and was expected to become a tropical storm on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said. The Bahamian government issued a tropical storm warning for its northwestern islands – the same area devastated by Hurricane Dorian earlier this month.
As of 8 p.m. ET, the storm was about 155 miles east-southeast of Great Abaco Island and about 260 miles east-southeast of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, the hurricane center said . Tropical Depression Nine had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph and was moving northwest at 8 mph.
A group organized by retired Navy Seals and the conservation group the Sea Shepherd has been loading up supplies to send to remote islands that may be impacted by the approaching storm. When CBS News caught up with them, the group had four tons of essentials – food, water and generators – it had loaded onto a ship.
Residents are doing whatever they can to prepare. With few boats intact, locals are shuttling them to the few dozen people who remain. “I mean, we really don’t need another hurricane. As you can see, we don’t need another one. But we just have to prepare,” Sinetra Higgs told CBS News.
Hurricane Doriandevastated the northern Bahamas. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, homes shredded, shipping containers and boats hurled inland. Some airports were submerged, while terminals were covered in debris.
Someresidents remain frustratedat the government response, especially with another storm on the way. Many residents said that the only assistance they’ve gotten came from foreigners – and that they’re still living without cell service, power, and running water.
The Bahamian government said it’s coordinating relief efforts from Nassau. But since most of the field teams come from private foreign aid groups, that’s all the residents in hard-hit communities see.
Errol Barnett contributed to this report.
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