Jobs are scarce, savings are running low and money is barely trickling in.
As survivors of Hurricane Dorian enter week three of post-storm life, many in the northwestern Bahamas, known for its casinos, golf courses and mega yachts, worry they will be forced into deep poverty as they scramble to find work in the aftermath of the Category 5 storm that wreaked havoc on two islands.
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Jobs are scarce, savings are running low and money is barely trickling in.
As the northwestern Bahamas struggles to recover from Dorian, residents braced for newly formed Tropical Storm Humberto, which was expected to hit two islands over the weekend that were already battered by Dorian. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm would hit the central and northwestern Bahamas with high wind and heavy rain.
"I'm wasting my money," he said.
He also said the government would soon announce new measures to help the nearly 5,000 people who were evacuated to New Providence, the most populous island in the Bahamas, from Grand Bahama and the Abaco islands after Dorian.
Before the storm hit, the Bahamas had 32,000 people who were self-employed. Among them was Dewitt Henfield, a baker who operated out of his home.
Henfield and many others left unemployed by the storm said it has been hard to find a new job because they have no longer has a car or clothes for interviews. The clients they once served are gone, too, added Melon Grant, a beautician who owned a business in Freeport called "Da Best of Da Best."
Ayfon Minus, 8, collects donated food that was brought by helicopter from Freeport to the Hurricane Dorian destroyed village of High Rock, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Tuesday, September 10, 2019. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
People walk next to a shattered and water-filled coffin lays exposed to the elements in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, at the cemetery in Mclean's Town, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Friday Sept. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
A shattered gas station is seen at the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in Freetown, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Friday Sept. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
"People say, 'You're going to be all right,' but those are mere words," said Edna Gelin, who was the manager of a natural hair store in Freeport on Grand Bahama island that has been closed since being badly damaged by the storm. "It's going to be bad because a lot of businesses were destroyed."
Mos Antenor, 42, drives a bulldozer while clearing the road after Hurricane Dorian Mclean's Town, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Friday Sept. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
As the northwestern Bahamas struggles to recover from Dorian, residents braced for newly formed Tropical Storm Humberto, which was expected to hit two islands over the weekend that were already battered by Dorian. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm would hit the central and northwestern Bahamas with high wind and heavy rain.
In the months prior to the hurricane, the unemployment rate of the tourism-dependent Bahamas had decreased slightly, but stood at 10% on the archipelago of some 395,000 inhabitants. On Grand Bahama it was 11% and had increased to 9% on nearby Abaco before Dorian slammed both islands, with people now trying to find any type of work after thousands lost their jobs.
Carl Swann, an IT technician from Abaco, recently typed up his resume on his cellphone after hearing about several job leads in the capital, Nassau: assistant engineer, security guard and electronic salesman. However, he hasn't secured any interviews yet and worries about his finances because he has nowhere to go and has been staying at a hotel for two weeks.
Cable TV is restored after the passing of Hurricane Dorian in Freeport, Bahamas, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. While power has returned to much of Grand Bahama, spokesman Carl Smith for the country’s emergency management Agency said the electrical infrastructure around Marsh Harbour, Abaco’s largest city, was destroyed. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
"I'm wasting my money," he said.
It's unclear how many Bahamians affected by the hurricane have sought and obtained unemployment benefits, but the government has pledged to make it easier for evacuees to access those benefits.
"That will be a big relief," Labor Minister Dion Foulkes recently told reporters. "We'd like to stabilize as many families as we can as quick as possible."
A man and girl peer out from a bakery and cafeteria in Freeport, Bahamas, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. Those who survived Hurricane Dorian are facing the prospect of starting their lives over but with little idea of how or where to even begin. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
He also said the government would soon announce new measures to help the nearly 5,000 people who were evacuated to New Providence, the most populous island in the Bahamas, from Grand Bahama and the Abaco islands after Dorian.
The storm, however, has helped a handful of Bahamians. It has created job opportunities for workers such as carpenters, construction crews and people like Edley Edwards, a heavy machinery operator who was clearing debris on a recent afternoon at the eastern end of Grand Bahama, which was hit the hardest by Dorian.
"We'll be busy right straight through," he said. "Just a little pushin' to clear the road."
A car is sunk in the wreckage and debris caused by Hurricane Dorian, in Mclean's Town, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Wednesday Sept. 11, 2019. Bahamians are tackling a massive clean-up a week after Hurricane Dorian devastated the archipelago’s northern islands. Residents sift through debris as they try to save prized possessions and prepare to rebuild from one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
Before the storm hit, the Bahamas had 32,000 people who were self-employed. Among them was Dewitt Henfield, a baker who operated out of his home.
"I'm a bread man," he said as he stood in a line Friday outside an emergency operations center in Freeport seeking food, water, building supplies and other materials since the storm took everything he owned.
"I have no money. That's why we have to be in lines like these," he said. "We're wondering where our next meal is coming from."
People line up to buy pre-paid cell phone cards, for sale from a mobile Aliv office, after the passing of Hurricane Dorian in Freeport, Bahamas, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. While power has returned to much of Grand Bahama, spokesman Carl Smith for the country’s emergency management Agency said the electrical infrastructure around Marsh Harbour, Abaco’s largest city, was destroyed. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
Henfield and many others left unemployed by the storm said it has been hard to find a new job because they have no longer has a car or clothes for interviews. The clients they once served are gone, too, added Melon Grant, a beautician who owned a business in Freeport called "Da Best of Da Best."
"Everybody lost their job, so nobody paying to get their hair done," she said as she shook her head. "There's no opportunity after the storm because everywhere is basically damaged. Right now it's just hopeless."
A helicopter flies over the village of High Rock after delivering emergency supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian In High Rock, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Tuesday, September 10, 2019. (AP Photo Ramon Espinosa)
Ayfon Minus, 8, collects donated food that was brought by helicopter from Freeport to the Hurricane Dorian destroyed village of High Rock, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Tuesday, September 10, 2019. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
People walk next to a shattered and water-filled coffin lays exposed to the elements in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, at the cemetery in Mclean's Town, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Friday Sept. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)
A shattered gas station is seen at the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in Freetown, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Friday Sept. 13, 2019. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa)