Lots. Do not build in flood prone areas or right on the shoreline. Stricter building codes that new structures must be a certain elevation above sea level. Build shelters that can withstand 200+ mph winds. Will be expensive so let shelters be dual purpose e.g. the new schools should be built to this standard so will not have to rebuild after these storms and they could double as shelters that will not fail. Plan properly, pre position assets before storm etc. The list is endless of how we can defend against these storms.

Speaking of defenseless. Can we have completely new leadership for our defense force? The commodore needs to be relieved of duty. We spent a quarter of a billion dollars on boats, two of which have already been run arground. The British navy made their way to abaco before the defense force did. How is this possible? Well they tracked the storm and had a ship on its way from Jamaica to enter abaco as soon as possible. We should have done that.

Instead we were late as usual leading to unnessary looting and lawlessness. Then the defense force brags that on Friday sept 6, 5days after the storm they had 250 members in abaco and Grand Bahama combined. This out of a force of 1600 members. No planning, terrible logistics amounts to failed leadership. We can not be business as usual in these times. We deserve better. The commodore and defense force leadership has to go.

Amen. This storm is bringing to the surface the latent xenophobia that so many Bahamians have. It’s vileness and viciousness is quite surprising, I always knew it was there but it is deep seeded and terrible. Apparently it makes some people feel better about themselves when the falsely denigrate others, the irony is in the process these hateful people are only demeaning themselves.

I live in Long Island and as I have mentioned before there are no Haitians here legal or otherwise as far as I know. Just this morning I cleaned up used condom wrappers presumably thrown from a car in front of my property. It is a daily occurrence to pick up discarded bottles and cans. The sides of our roads are littered. Truth is we have very nasty Bahamians as well and this one can not be blamed on the Haitians.

I am pro Bahamian unlike you. I only hire Bahamians. You rather pay a foreigner sub standard wages rather than pay a Bahamian a living wage. A hypocrite and traitor.

You seem to hate paying Bahamians a fair wage. Sad.

Several decades? Are these people for real? Not a single qualified Bahamian in several decades. Wow. Says a lot about what they think of Bahamians and how selfish and cheap they are. It is so called Bahamians like this that are destroying our country and have the temerity to complain.

Save us the sad sob story. You have contributed to this problem by hiring foreign Labour. In all these years you could not find a single Bahamian to fulfill this role. Give me a break. Has this man any family here in the Bahamas? Has he fathered any children here that are a burden on us tax payers? You are a hypocrite and should recuse yourself from all discussion on this matter save to pay and make recompense for the problems you have caused taxpayers like me who have never hired a Haitian. This is nothing more than a pathetic sad excuse to save money instead of paying a fair wage to a Bahamian.

I am most certainly a Bahamian but I am no hypocrite like most of my fellow Bahamians who have exploited Haitians for cheap Labour and now that the time comes to pay the bill wants to wash their hands clean. Mine are clean how about yours?

It would be wise to educate yourself before you write such fictitious drivel. Long Island is the worse place for any Haitian sloop to land. It has happened several times and invariably every Haitian is rounded up and deported to Nassau. There are no Haitians living here to hide or help them, or people like you who hire them and help them.

Wrong again. I have no Haitian ancestry, I have no Haitian friends, I do not personally know any Haitians. I live in Long Island where there are no Haitians and unlike a self acknowledged hypocrite like you I have never hired a Haitian in my life.