I've been in Dominica for a few days now. I feel very comfortable here and the people welcomed me with open arms. The island has a very heavy fate to bear and was mowed down by Hurricane Maria. 90% of all buildings were damaged, a lot of people became homeless and many lost their jobs because many companies, shops, restaurants, hotels and bars as well as 100% of the agriculture were destroyed. I have passed mowed down coconut plantations, ruins, tents instead of houses and many houses that have only one tarpaulin instead of a roof.

I have heard many stories about how the people experienced and survived the hurricane. Some I would like to share with you at this point.

Der Hurrikan war als kleiner Sturm der Stärke 1-2 angekündigt. Als er aber auf die Insel zukam, nahm er rasant an Geschwindigkeit zu und im Radio wurde gesagt, dass es mittlerweile ein Sturm der Kategorie 3 sei. Danach fiel der Strom und das Radio aus und jeder war auf sich allein gestellt. Im Nachhinein war es ein Hurrikan der Kategorie 5, der einmal komplett über die Insel gefegt hat und nichts ausgelassen hat. Im Hurrikan waren auch mehrere Tornados. Die Häuser, die von Tornados erfasst wurden, hatten gar keine Chance.

Tatjana, die im MaBass Gästehaus arbeitet, ist für die Hurrikan-Nacht in eine Wohnung in einem Haus mit Betondach, das eben Hurrikan-sicher sein sollte. Allerdings ist in der Nacht der Fluß in Roseau komplett übergelaufen. Der Strom und das Radio waren schon lange ausgefallen, das Wasser fing an in der Wohnung zu steigen. Bis zur Taille. Dann hat sie ihren Pass und ihre wichtigen Papiere ganz oben auf einen Schrank kurz unter der Decke gelegt. Sie wollten die Tür öffnen, um aus der Wohnung zu kommen. Das ging nicht mehr – sie ließ sich nicht öffnen, also zerschmetterten sie ein Fenster und schwammen im Stockdunkel nach draußen – ständig Objekte von sich wegschiebend, die durch die Nacht geschwemmt wurden. Schließlich erreichten sie die Außentreppe zur Wohnung im ersten Stock und konnten reingelassen werden. Sie sagte mir, dass sie, als sie in der Wohnung war und das Wasser stieg und stieg und später, als sie durch die Nacht schwamm fest damit gerechnet hat, dass sie in dieser Nacht sterben würde.

The father, who I met at the BBQ with his children on the beach, said that he was at their house on the first floor with his wife and the small children. The hurricane smashed the windows and tore down the roof. The family sat under the kitchen table with mattresses leaning against the table to protect them from flying objects. The children were surprisingly quiet and in some cases even sleeping

Marcus, who steered the fishing boat while spearfishing, had sought protection from the hurricane in the neighbouring house. The entire upper floor of his house was torn down. There was absolutely nothing left. All the furniture, all the items in the house were never seen again. The only thing he could save was his bike, which was blown into a house two buildings away, and after a few small repairs it even rides again.

Russel, who I went back to Roseau with from Paix Bouche, told me that when he came out of the house in the morning after the hurricane, he saw the destruction and felt like in an end-time movie and was convinced that he must be the only human still being alive, because everything looked so devastated that he did not believe that anyone else could have survived.

Many people have suffered severe trauma and you can see their concern in their eyes when they tell you that the hurricane session is starting again.

During the aftermath of the hurricane, there was no running water and no electricity even not in the capital city. People walked into the mountains every day to get drinking water. The roads and above all bridges were destroyed, washed away or blocked by huge boulders. In some parts of the island there is still no electricity - 8 months after the hurricane. In Paix Bouche, for example, we had the generator on for 1-2 hours, otherwise there was no electricity.

According to Erol after the hurricane Waste Management, Experts came to the country and set up collection points for the destroyed galvanized roofs. I saw aerial images of the day after the storm, you have to imagine the roofs lying everywhere but not on the houses.

Falls Ihr Interesse habt, das Projekt zu unterstützen, freue ich mich über Eure Mithilfe. Vielen lieben Dank.

Jetzt spenden

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *