By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.et

A Long Island businessman yesterday estimated that 10 per cent of the island’s population had migrated to either New Providence or Freeport in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin, and while some wanted to return “there is nothing to come back to”.

Mario Cartwright, a Long Island Chamber of Commerce director, told Tribune Business it would likely take years for the island to return to normal.

“Right now many of the homes have been repaired, but I still notice tarps on some roofs,” he said. “Those people are still waiting on NEMA to help them out.

“We had a lot of people who lost their homes and their jobs. There was a migration of people from Long Island to places like Nassau and Freeport. I would say a good estimate is about 10 per cent of the population. I think those folks want to come back but there is nothing to come back to.”

Mr Cartwright added: “I think that the business community has been overlooked. Many businesses had no insurance. Some of us did have insurance, but even in those cases insurance never fully restores you.

“That being said, we have businesses that may have come back, but some have not opened up. In my case, I own a fuel business, and my service stations are operational, but the primary one still needs a lot more work done to it.

“There were quite a few vehicles destroyed in the hurricane. In my case, fuel sales are down because there are less cars around, and also 10 per cent of the population has gone away. I think it’s going to take years to get back to normal.”

Mr Cartwright said that since Joaquin struck on October 2, a massive clean-up effort has been ongoing on the island.

“Long Island is very fortunate in that people who are descended from Long Island live in Nassau and South Florida, and they quickly mobilised after the hurricane to get supplies to us,” he added.

“The HeadKnowles group in Nassau did wonders for us. That kicked off the recovery process quickly in terms of getting water, food and clothing.

“An enormous clean-up effort has been ongoing since October 2. We found that the civilian population eventually got aid through private donors, and NEMA kicked in months afterwards. That’s because government tends to be slow, which is not a knock on the Government. That is just the way things often are.”