ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The devastation Hurricane Dorian left behind in the Bahamas is visible at every turn. The United Nations reports 70,000 people lost their homes to the hurricane.
While evacuation from Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands, the two islands hit worst by the hurricane, is not mandatory, thousands of people are looking to leave with nothing left to stay for right now.
Volunteers like Mark Auchtung have answered the call.
“We also brought back over 25 evacuees. We brought them back to Tampa,” Auchtung said. He has been volunteering and flying for the nonprofit Sol Relief. Since Tuesday, they have made dozens of flights to the Bahamas and have dropped off tens of thousands of supplies kits.
Some of their flights back though, haven’t been empty.
“When they got to Tampa, they cleared customs. It took a while because we brought them unannounced. So we are working on that infrastructure to make sure that doesn’t happen again. But it’s tough," Auchtung said.
And that infrastructure involves working closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as Bahamian authorities.
Part of the concern is tracking residents. If people evacuate through improper channels, there’s no way to know if that person is safe in the U.S. or missing.
The other part is the documentation issue.
Currently, Bahamians can travel to the U.S. with a visa but if they don’t have a visa, evacuees can still come to the U.S. with other documentation. The guidelines still in place are pre-clearance by CBP, a valid passport and no criminal record.
But it seems there might still be room for evaluation, which is why border patrol is asking all entities assisting in evacuations to work with them and Bahamian authorities, stating:
"CBP strongly encourages private vessel and aircraft operators to coordinate any evacuation missions with Bahamian authorities before evacuating anyone from The Bahamas.”
Even so, many Florida politicians, including senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, are asking to have visa fees waived for Bahamians with relatives in the U.S. to make things as seamless as possible.
For Auchtung, he says the pilots couldn’t take off with open seats: “You get over there and they have passports and they need out. They have homes that are gone. And we are leaving in an empty plane, you can’t leave them on the ground. I'm sorry Tampa customs if we offended you.
"But this is what we’re dealing with.”
The National Emergency Management Agency says that those who are choosing to stay on Abaco are being provided temporary housing. For the Bahamians who have evacuated to Nassau, there are shelters in place ready to receive people. As of Saturday night, 860 people had been placed in those shelters.
What other people are reading right now:
- Florida boy surprised with Disney trip after using birthday money to help Hurricane Dorian evacuees
- EMT responds to fatal crash and finds his 16-year-old daughter
- Coast Guard makes contact with missing crewmembers in overturned cargo ship
- 2 people die when plane crashes in the Florida Keys
- Disney World offers 'flex tickets' for Florida residents
FREE 10NEWS APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter