Effects of Hurricane Wilma in The Bahamas - Aftermath

Aftermath

By about two days after the passage of Hurricane Wilma, 800 residents on Grand Bahama remained in shelters, including 65 families who lost their homes and stayed in a hotel set up as a government shelter in Freeport. On Bimini, most residents who evacuated to shelters returned to their homes within two days of the hurricane. The Bahamian Red Cross quickly assessed the damage on Grand Bahama and Bimini, and successfully requested to be included under the federation's hurricane appeal for Central America. Local Red Cross chapters mobilized all available resources to assist the residents most affected. The Bahamian Red Cross began a three month program to distribute food and other items to 1,000 of the 3,500 affected families, primarily on Grand Bahama; the remaining 2,500 families received assistance from the government and other organizations. Volunteers delivered building materials and provided water vouchers to those affected. In Nassau, the Red Cross disaster contingency stock sent a boat with food items, blankets, health kits, tarpaulins and water. About a week after the hurricane, the United States Agency for International Development began providing $50,000 (2005 USD, $55,000 2008 USD) to the Bahamian National Emergency Management Agency for the purchase and distribution of emergency supplies. The agency also provided $9,000 (2005 USD, $9,900 2008 USD) for locally-contracted helicopter assessments in the affected areas. Red Cross agencies throughout the Caribbean Sea provided hygienic kits, plastic sheeting, blankets, and jerry cans.

Electricians had power restored to the Freeport area by the day after the storm, and had power restored to most of the western portion of the island within three weeks after the hurricane. Work crews quickly removed road debris and tree limbs, and by the day after the passage of Wilma most roads were cleared. The passage of the hurricane left 1,000–4,000 people and hundreds of animals homeless. In response, the Grand Bahama Humane Society distributed about 340 kg (750 lb) of dog food and treated or euthanized injured animals, depending on their condition. The earlier effects of Wilma on Mexico left many tourist areas in that country closed, leading to a 10% increase in tourism in the Bahamas in December 2005. By about three weeks after the hurricane, the airport on Grand Bahama Island was reopened, and all but one resort were also reopened; the remaining resort was reopened about two months after the hurricane.