Bahamas escaped the worst of the storm. Inagua, South Acklins and Ragged Island took the most direct hit from the storm which packed winds of 155 mph near New Providence. Multiple homes in Grand Bahamas were damaged by tornadic activity. 70 % of homes in Inagua sustained roof damage. The country had a reported 135 million in damage and losses from the storm.
Source: Tribune242 (2017), Hartnell (2018), The Nassau Guardian 2017
ECLAC article on Irma’s Impact in Bahamas
The three-year period of 2015-2017 has been particularly eventful in The Bahamas,
with the country experiencing landfall of a Category 4 hurricane in each of those years. These were Hurricane Joaquin in 2015, Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and Hurricane Irma in 2017. Hurricane Irma was the ninth named hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Around 01:00 UTC-5 on Friday 8 September, the center of Hurricane Irma crossed the Bahamian island, Little Inagua, then passed south of Acklins Island. On the afternoon of that same day, the center of the hurricane passed about 15 miles to the south of Ragged Island. Later, the storm affected south Andros, Bimini and Grand Bahama.
Prior to Irma reaching The Bahamas, the Government executed an emergency
evacuation plan for persons on the most threatened islands to be transferred to the
capital, Nassau, in New Providence. This evacuation process included residents
from Acklins, Crooked Island, Inagua, Long Cay, Mayaguana and Ragged Island. According to data provided by the Bahamian Ministry of Social Services, a total of 1,479 persons were evacuated. At the national level, 3,515 persons were housed in approximately 133 shelters activated during the disaster. The emergency evacuation was the largest in the history of The Bahamas, an important sign of its success being no deaths or injuries reported.
The effects of Hurricane Irma in The Bahamas were concentrated on five islands: Acklins, Bimini, Grand Bahamas, Inagua and Ragged Island. This group of islands has about 54,906 individuals, representing 16 per cent of the country´s
total population.
The total estimated damage of Irma was US $32.3 million, the losses US $86.9
million and additional cost of US $11.4 million. The majority of the damage was concentrated in the social and infrastructural sectors, while the losses in the productive sector were mainly in tourism. Given that the economy was already facing a number of challenges before Hurricane Irma, the fiscal challenge remains a major concern in the Bahamas. Public debt has more than doubled since the global crisis, driven in part by a stimulus programme to boost economic activity after the crisis. Before Hurricane Irma, growth of 1.4 per cent was forecast for 2017. After the disaster, however, The Bahamas economy is now projected to experience a growth of 1.0 per cent. This lower economic activity would result in loss of earnings and wages and salaries of US $25.4 million and US $18.7 million. It is expected that the government will undertake additional borrowing, mainly from the
domestic financial sector to finance its contribution to the recovery.
The overall impact was relatively small compared to previous hurricanes. Although the areas directly affected by Irma were low population density areas, the impact was significant, particularly in Acklins and Ragged Island. According to the report of the housing sector, a total of 387 dwellings had some type of damage directly affecting 1,120 people. A total of 60 homes were also destroyed, resulting in the displacement of 171 persons. Damage to the Housing and Public Buildings sector was estimated to be US $14.5 million, while losses were calculated at US $0.4 million having regards to the 135 rental homes affected. Additional costs were assessed in respect of cleaning of debris, rental equipment, labour, staff services, damage to appliances, and furniture. These tasks accounted for another US $2.2 million. With respect to the impact on children’s education, a total of 36 educational
facilities and 5,788 students were affected. The damage to school property was estimated at US $1.5 million and the value of instruction time lost was calculated at US $1.5 million. There was also significant damage to roads, airports, ports and other infrastructure. This damage was caused primarily by water surge rather than wind, except for the airport terminal building in Ragged Island that was destroyed
by hurricane force winds. In this case, the estimated damage was US $10.3 million, with losses of US $2.2 million, and additional costs of US $4.5 million. In the telecommunications sector, Hurricane Irma caused destruction to wires and utility poles, loss of commercial power to mobile installations and cable nodes, rain and salt water- breakage of undersea cables by drifting boats, and damage to buildings.
Ragged Island suffered by far the most damage, followed by Andros, Bimini, Inagua and Grand Bahama. Damage was estimated at US $2.1 million. At the same time, losses for telecommunications sales as a result of service outages were estimated at US $0.1 million, plus additional costs at US $0.5 million. Damage in the power sector was primarily to transmission and distribution systems, and consisted of fallen power lines and utility poles, blown transformers, compromised insulators, and salt-spray accumulated on lines and equipment. The estimated damage was US $0.8 million while losses, representing the amount of electricity that was not sold as a result of power outages, were estimated at US $0.4 million. Additional costs, comprising of overtime for staff and transport for repair crews and equipment, were estimated at US $0.7 million. With the exception of Bimini
(the underwater line) and Ragged Island, there was no substantial damage to the
Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) facilities on any of the other Family
Islands. Water and Sanitation damage was approximately US $0.5 million, due
to the interruption of water distribution service to dwellings, and it was estimated
that losses were approximately US $0.9 million. Additional costs were estimated
at US $3.3 million. Tourism is the main driver of the Bahamian economy. Unlike the previous storms, Irma did not directly affect the major tourism infrastructure of The Bahamas. Nevertheless, it was a major storm that received extensive news
coverage for days before making landfall, thus causing significant disruption in the
flow of tourists all over the Caribbean.
The total damage in the tourism sector was US $0.6 million, nearly all occurring in the Family Islands. The losses were much greater, escalating to US $68 million, while additional costs were US $0.1 million. Another important economic activity in The Bahamas is fishing. Although Irma did not cause significant damage in this sector, it affected the most important fishing area of the Bahamas, the Great Bahama Bank. It also affected communities whose main source of income is fishing. Hence the sector suffered US $1 million in damage and US $12.9 million in losses. The majority of the damages and losses were concentrated in New Providence and Spanish Wells, but in relative terms, the impact of Irma was stronger in small communities like Duncan Town and Saline Point.
Hurricane Irma demonstrated once more that natural hazards can damage infrastructure in a way that is felt across multiple sectors. In The Bahamas, most
infrastructure assets – including roads, ports, and tourist facilities - are located
close to the shoreline, exacerbating their vulnerability to hurricanes.
Source: https://goo.gl/nCG2WE