Four linesmen (in orange tops) from the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) were yesterday, October 7, 2019, deployed to help the hurricane-ravaged Bahamas Islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco in their electricity restoration efforts. Photo: Facebook

Following a vicious onslaught from Hurricane Dorian on September 1, 2019, areas in the country including Abaco Island, were severely hit with several families being displaced from their homes and contamination of potable water facilities. Photo: Internet Source

This Monday, September 2, 2019 photo released by the US Coast Guard Station Clearwater, shows flooding on the runway of the Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas. Photo: US Coast Guard Station Clearwater via AP

Both islands were impacted by Hurricane Dorian which completely destroyed homes, infrastructure and utility lines in September 2019.

'Brother's keeper' - Premier Fahie 

The four men deployed are Jason Clyne, Damien Richardson, Trevor M. Stevens and Shaquil Samuel and, according to Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1), the assistance offered by the Virgin Islands comes as the territory is  seeking to reciprocate what was received with regards to help when it was ravaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. 

"I really appreciate the work overall that BVI Electricity does and to know that we can reciprocate the help that the Bahamas has given us, which a lot of other countries have given us, two years ago when we had Irma and we were really down," he said. 

"So we always have to be our brother's keeper and in this case, where we all are in the Caribbean and all are in the zone of catastrophic events, especially hurricanes, more so lately a lot of earthquakes. We need each other to be able to not only recover and repair but also become more resilient," Hon Fahie told the media.

In the Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian made landfall as a Category 5 storm on September 1, 2019, and battered the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, in the north of the archipelago, for two days, causing several families to be displaced from their homes and contamination of potable water facilities.

Killer Storm 

Images showed cars flipped and battered, roofs torn off, and flooding with as many as 13,000 homes being severely damaged or destroyed, according to a statement from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). 

The killer storm, the strongest to ever to make landfall in the country, wiped out in some cases, entire neighbourhoods leaving a staggering a death toll in its shadows.

Premier Fahie further urged safety-first for the VI men who were deployed and sent regards to the already deployed teams in the Bahamas as part of overall regional assistance.