Hurricane Dorian
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The government of the Bahamas is planning to deactivate shelters for victims of Hurricane Dorian before the start of the 2020 hurricane season.
According to Social Services Minister Frankie Campbell the shelters to be closed include the Poinciana Inn – which is currently serving as a transitional home for affected families — and Bahamas Academy Auditorium. Combined, the remaining two shelters house less than 300 people.
The 2020 hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30.
“We are relying on collaborative efforts from the new Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and the preparations that are being made in Abaco and the fact that persons are getting assistance with having their houses repaired,” he said.
Last month, the government said it wanted to reduce the number of people at the shelters and would offer accommodation at the Poinciana Inn for up to 90 days – giving first consideration to families because of their privacy needs.
“We wanted to use Poinciana (because) Poinciana has 50 rooms, all of which aren’t completely operable or inhabitable. We wanted to use that for more families – families who need privacy, husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends — to not have them in the open environment and so therein lies the reason for the segregation. That was the method that we used,”Campbell said.
The ministry and its partners originally housed more than 2,000 people in shelters across the country after the deadly September storm.
