MAF's disaster response to Hurricane Dorian

An update from MAF's communication department on MAF’s involvement in responding to the devastation of hurricane Dorian.

MAF has deployed staff to support Samaritan’s Purse (SP) and Missionary Flight International (MFI) in their response to Hurricane Dorian that hit the Bahamas on September 1.

Reports say there are 70,000 people homeless in Abaco (part of the Bahamas) and the surrounding islands. There are many stateless Haitian refugees who won't evacuate and many Bahamans are staying on the impacted islands as it is all they know and are trying to survive. These areas will need significant resources. SP started tarp deliveries on 9^th Sept and will sling load them by helicopter from their Abaco base to other devastated islands.

Search and rescue in Abaco and Grand Bahama islands continues, with search dogs being used for body recovery. The death toll will continue to climb. There have been many people evacuated by the government and some by SP to islands that were not destroyed by the storm. There are numerous medical needs among the hurricane survivors.

 

• In Freeport, the Emergency Field Hospital is set up and accepting patients. The 40-bed facility will have an outpatient department and emergency room, equipped to serve up to 100 patients a day. There will be an operating room—with capacity for 10 surgeries per day—and an obstetrics ward with delivery room.
• MAF’s John Woodberry (flight ops support), Brent Palmer (Caravan pilot) have been supporting medical teams and shipping equipment to set up the hospital and assisting teams doing emergency relief projects on Abaco and surrounding islands.
• On Abaco Island distribution of tarps occurred yesterday at Elbow Cay and organized distribution of tarps in Marsh Harbour will happen today. The estimated number of people needing shelter is 4,000.
• God has blessed our response and put many things in place and provided key contacts. We found out the other day that all our aviation fuel is being provided for free. God is good.

• MAF’s John Gorenflo and Vaughan Woodward worked with the Bahama CAA to secure flight permission and operating approvals for the MFI and partner aircraft to conduct relief flights into the Bahamas. They also worked to identify on-ground partners to receive the aid goods to be delivered and completed the paperwork for import duty exemptions.
• On Saturday there was a delivery 8,000 lbs. of relief supplies to isolated communities to West End, Grand Bahamas
• A further three flights were conducted, one to West End and two into Freeport, Grand Bahamas, with 24,000 lbs. of aid and relief supplies delivered (water, food and personal hygiene supplies) for the Salvation Army.
• Monday flights included three DC3 flights to Freeport delivering goods to the Salvation Army for distribution, one C208 flight to Freeport and one to Scotland Cay off the island of Abaco. It is hoped that the C208 will fly directly to the Abaco Island Cays in the coming days with necessary aid and relief goods.

Missionary Flight International staging area for receiving and packaging relief goods
(Photo by Vaughan Woodward)

a Samaritans Purse field hospital is unloaded from a DC8 in Nassau.

Please pray for our MAF team and other relief workers. Also pray for good health among the workers and impacted people in the Bahamas. There are fears that diarrhoea and waterborne diseases due to unsafe drinking water could appear, but so far no cases of cholera have been reported.