FIU Student Traveled From Miami To Bahamas To Escape From Hurricane Dorian

By: Fabian Osorio / Contributing Writer

 

On Aug. 30, Alia Elliott decided to fly to the Bahamas, to escape from Hurricane Dorian’s projected path. She didn’t expect that the storm would turn North and stagnant over the islands catastrophically damaging them.

The FIU junior student packed some clothing, her laptop, and passport and flew out to the country of origin of her family. Elliott, who studies law, business and society, decided not to stay in Miami when Hurricane Dorian seemed to be heading towards South Florida. 

“I decided to travel to the Bahamas because first of all, it is home for me. Secondly, my entire family was there, including my two-year-old daughter,” Elliott said. “We have one of the strongest building codes in the Western Hemisphere, so I felt confident that I would be safer and more comfortable at home.”

She first heard about Hurricane Dorian on Thursday, Aug. 29 and started getting news updates on her phone.

“I honestly did not pay much attention to it until I constantly heard people speaking about the hurricane on campus. So, I Googled it while doing some homework,” Elliott said. “I saw that the Governor of Florida declared a state of emergency on Thursday.”

The trip to the Bahamas became an unexpected expense for her. She said that it did not matter because money “comes and goes.” The most important thing was being surrounded by family, friends and loved ones in such bad circumstances.   

According to the National Hurricane Center, the center of Hurricane Dorian was heading toward the west on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 2:00 a.m. EDT. It had become extremely dangerous closing in on the Northwestern Bahamas.

“The preparation for the Hurricane Dorian in the Island of New Province was as usual,” Elliott said. “Everyone was rushing around, buying last-minute items and stocking up on gas, food, and water.”

During the hurricane, she stayed at home with her daughter, mother, father and a cousin. She drove around the island to make sure that her extended family was safe. She tried to keep in touch with cousins, aunties, godmother and god-sisters in Freeport as well as friends and other family members in Abaco.

“Honestly, I was calm in the beginning, but when I noticed that the hurricane had become a category 5 with 185 mph winds, I started to worry about the Island of Abaco,” Elliott said. “The Bahamas had never experienced a hurricane like this before; and the fact that it was moving so slowly, and also becoming stationary over Grand Bahama for more than 20 hours, made it even worse.” 

Elliott’s heart is broken. She is back in Miami now, but it is still difficult for her to experience her family and friends in the Bahamas going through something so devastating.

“We were not even in Dorian’s direct path. If we had been, I don’t think Nassau would’ve made it either,” she said. 

 Throughout the hurricane, Elliott’s family was calm and did not show fear at first. But when the weather started to deteriorate the island, Alia could sense the fear and she started to worry because there was no communication.

“I just heard from my godmother yesterday after not hearing from her for about 3 days,” she said last Thursday. 

The area that Elliott lives in the Bahamas was not flooded and had no damages. But some of her family in Nassau did experience flooding. Her house lost power for at least 24 hours.

“Thankfully we have a generator in my home that we were able to use,” she said. “Abaco and Grand Bahama may still not have power because they were hit so bad.” 

The devastation was greatest in Abaco and Grand Bahama. More than 13,000 houses for about 45 percent of all homes were damaged or destroyed in these areas, according to Associated Press reports.

Elliott has family that lost everything on the island of Abaco. Her cousin broke his arm and had to wait three days before he could be evacuated off the island and taken to the hospital in Nassau. 

“At this moment, the only way I can describe what I feel –it is heartbroken. What Nassau —where I was— went through was minor compared to what those Abaco and Grand Bahama experiences,” Elliott said. “They have nothing, and the entire country feels for them, I think the world feels for them. The photos and videos are devastating, and the only thing I could do was literally cry for my people.” 

After Hurricane Dorian passed, Alia could not sit back and do nothing. She gathered all the items that she bought in preparation for the hurricane and donated them to an organization called HeadKnowles. Also, she volunteered by packing items to be given to those in need.

Elliott had had similar experiences with hurricanes before, but none of them were as bad as Hurricane Dorian.

“The Bahamas has never experienced a loss like this due to a hurricane. Hurricane Matthew which I believe was category 3 did some damage, but nothing compared to Dorian.”