By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

RESIDENTS in the southern Bahamas began returning to normalcy following Hurricane Melissa, with repatriation efforts wrapping up on Sunday.

However, while some expressed gratitude for the assistance provided, others claimed they were “abandoned” by the government or described the process as “unorganised.”

Last Wednesday, the Bahamas Department of Meteorology issued Alert #24 for Hurricane Melissa, warning of damaging winds, storm surge, and rainfall of up to ten inches. The Category Two system, packing maximum sustained winds of 100mph, moved northeast at 15 miles per hour near the Crooked Island Passage, affecting Ragged Island, Long Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, Rum Cay, and San Salvador.

The storm’s core passed about 25 miles east-southeast of Duncan Town, Ragged Island, and 60 miles south-southwest of South Long Island, bringing hurricane conditions to several islands before nightfall. The all-clear was issued late Thursday, and repatriation efforts began as early as Friday.

Although evacuation orders were issued for several islands, some residents chose to remain at home.

Michael Scott Nickson, of Inagua, said the island experienced heavy rain and high seas but minimal structural damage. He said intermittent 45mph gusts caused some flooding in low-lying areas that quickly drained.

However, he claimed residents were left stranded without essential workers or an operational shelter.

“We didn’t have electricity or running water for several days,” Mr Nickson said. “All the essential workers packed up and went to Nassau, so we had to rely on our own standby electricity and water. That condition was probably worse than the storm itself.”

He added: “We didn’t even have a shelter open. We had almost 500 people left and some of those were bedridden and couldn’t leave under any condition. We didn’t have police; we didn’t have essential workers.”

He said doctors and utility personnel returned on Friday, with power and water restored shortly thereafter.

Despite these claims, the Disaster Risk Management Authority had previously listed St Philip’s Anglican Community Centre in Matthew Town, Inagua, as a designated shelter with a capacity of 60 persons.

Another resident, Nelson Burrows, estimated that between 100 and 200 people remained on the island and confirmed that essential workers had been evacuated. He said the storm’s impact was mild and that power was restored within days.

Minister of Disaster Risk Management Leon Lundy said he observed minimal damage to affected islands during an aerial assessment, noting minor roof damage, some flooding, and a washed-out road in Acklins near Salina Point that would soon be repaired.

He said evacuees were returned to their islands over the weekend, with the last 700 repatriated to the MICAL district on Sunday. Ragged Island residents returned on Friday.

Minister Lundy acknowledged delays in evacuation, attributing some to an incident at Exuma International Airport, where a U.S.-registered aircraft was forced to land without its landing gear after a mechanical malfunction. No one on the Piper PA34 aircraft, registration N9528C, was said to have suffered injuries, and an investigation is ongoing.

He said the disruption caused several hours of delay and affected the return of evacuees, though stranded passengers were accommodated and flown home the following day.

Acklins resident Rulame Cooper, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, described the repatriation process as “poorly organised.”

She said evacuees were given short notice to assemble at Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium and later waited at Odyssey Aviation from noon until 4.30pm without food or water.

Writing from Exuma while awaiting her connecting flight to Acklins, Ms Cooper said the experience left many evacuees—particularly children and the elderly—distressed and fatigued.

She added that her letter was not intended as criticism but as “constructive feedback” to help improve future evacuation procedures, acknowledging the challenges of coordinating such a large-scale operation.

Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) reported that power has been restored to nearly all customers across the Central and Southeast Bahamas, with full restoration expected by midweek. The company said its Family Island crews worked “tirelessly under difficult conditions” to re-energize communities affected by Hurricane Melissa, despite flooding, downed lines, and road obstructions.

As of Sunday, electricity had been fully restored to Cat Island, Rum Cay, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island, and Inagua. Long Island was 95 per cent reconnected, with remaining corners expected to be restored by Tuesday.

Exuma’s network was substantially back online, while San Salvador stood at 75 per cent restoration due to heavy pole and line damage in the south. BPL said repairs to communications infrastructure were also progressing, with most telecom sites re-energized and full restoration expected within days.