EDITOR, The Tribune

I hear the comment of Minister Lewis who we must not forget is a qualified architect, but in 245 years of the history of hurricanes hitting The Bahamas only one in seven years is there a hit…35 in 245 years!

If we adopt this scenario any rebuild on Crooked Island should stop immediately – Grand Bahama especially because the frequency for hits there is high, the second highest landfall.

The great 1929 hurricane which hit Nassau seems it came up from the south hitting virtually everything in its track so Nassau should not have been rebuilt?

The Bahamas lies in a tropical/cyclone zone…hurricanes are inevitable we pray not CAT 4’s and 5+’s and infrequent please.

The water side of Marsh Harbour evolved like most town centres in the islands…little consideration to high tides or surges…few comment that a lot of the damage was caused because empty containers were left on the dock which were picked up in the surge and acted like a bulldozer blade on everything it came across…flattened everything.

I argue the Grand Bahama flooding exceptionally not the norm was directly caused because of the design of the new causeway at Fishing Hole Road…the new structure comprised of large open culverts but no one checked by the harbour…that was blocked by a limestone fill road over to the shipyard…the flood waters had nowhere to go except Freeport.

Yes rebuild to an improved specification…probably raise the foundations….certainly do not allow wooden structures, all walls must be filled cement blocks or concrete…choose the best roof type you have which survived 200mph winds so specify that type.

Marsh Harbour expanded out of the harbour late ‘80’s prior to that all activity business and social was there right on the harbour…

You are seeing massive floods in England and the US right now…they will clean up and rebuild it’s been that way for centuries.

Town Planning Regulations should have disallowed building literally in the water, but it is too late for that.

T FORBES

Nassau

February 18, 2020