WASHINGTON — The pictures coming out of the Bahamas on Monday are devastating, but for Leah Skrine she said the gut-wrenching part isn’t what’s on the news, but the silence from her family on the island.
“We’ve had a sleepless night and it’s just the waiting, the waiting is very difficult,” Skrine said.
Skrine is from the Bahamas and many of her family members still live there, including her father and brother.
“I haven’t heard from my father since 7:42 this morning and knowing so many of my family and friends spent the night in darkness with 185 mile and hour winds whirling outside their windows,” Skrine said.
While on the phone with WUSA9, Skrine got a call from her father. Her father and brother are okay, but she said one of her family members has gone missing. Skrine said he is in a wheelchair and did not evacuate High Rock. She said the wavers there were topping 24 feet.
Two hours later, Skrine said her cousin evacuated her home with her two young children. Despite others posting about families floating by, Skrine said she begged her cousin not to go. Her cousin felt she had no choice and left her home when she saw the water coming.
“We have a tornado, a flood, a storm and high winds just sitting over my island for two days and we’re not done yet,” Skrine said.
Skrine said the photos and videos coming out of the Bahamas don’t paint a full picture of the destruction that is washing ashore.
“You have to understand the scenes you’re seeing are from those of privilege,” Skrine said. “What many don’t understand is many of the Bohemians live at sea level and don’t have storm windows but have plywood on their windows.”
Skrine said once the water recedes, she worries about a lack of healthcare, fresh water, power and resources to restore the island’s functionality.
“Our Walmart may be flattened, or our Home Depot may be flattened but we can drive 50 miles to another one. In the Bahamas the one hardware store was flattened as well,” Skrine said of the island after Hurricane Matthew hit. “So, there was nowhere to go and nowhere to turn to.”
Skrine’s grandmother was supposed to return to her Bohemian home on Monday, now she said she’s worried for what she will return home to.
“Down there the majority of bohemians can’t afford insurance, so this is generational wealth being wiped out in one twelve-hour period,” Skrine said. “These storms wipe them out and they have no way to rebuild.”
For now, Skrine said she’s praying for the people in the Bahamas.