Crawfordsville news

By Billie Jo Rose

This is a continuation of Linda Wilfang's account of Hurricane Dorian, the island of Abaco, Bahamas and the Virus. Linda and her husband, Dan now residents of Crawfordsville since 2011 and former residents of Abaco, where they still have a home.

During the eye of the storm, people gathered in houses that were holding up better to the winds and water than their own. Several homes where there was standing room only, so many people gathered. Watching from her home in Crawfordsville, she heard desperate cries from people to 'please come save me and my child.” One of their friends had a broken leg from falling debris. It took Herculean International effort to get a road cleared to her place of refuge and get her airlifted to safety. It took three days! Facebook and cell phones allowed the Wiltfangs to experience much of the terror first hand. The stories of survival are many and varied. All are harrowing and serve as a reminder of how terrible it must of been for those who died. Sadly, many of the recovered bodies have yet to be released to the families and are being stored in refrigerated containers. It was only a few weeks ago that a massive memorial service was held honoring all those who perished and those who have never been found, presumed washed out to sea.

She and Dan had planned to spend the winter on Abaco. Obviously, their plans were in chaos. Even though they still had a home, they had nowhere to stay. The situation was dire. Water, food and gasoline were in short supply. People waited in lines for up to four hours to buy gasoline. The new currency became water and fuel. There was no air service or freight.Runways were flooded and full of debris and finally cleared by hand so aid could begin to arrive.

Vandalism and looting were widespread and personal safety was questionable. Their son, Jason was very anxious to go there. He and his father had to wait until December 4, when they found a place to stay with a generator, running water and dry beds. They borrowed a car (with no windows) from Linda's sister and ate mostly from the World Central Kitchen, who was doing an amazing job of feeding those left on the island. They stayed for a week, combing through their belongings and the treasures of a lifetime of memories. They filled two 30 yard skiffs with just about everything they once loved. Original art, quilts, beds, cushions, clothes, curtains..... anything that was paper, soft and fabric was now covered with mold. With no way to launder, it needed to be disposed of. They could only work during daylight, as they had no electricity.

Immediately after the storm, those who could leave, did so. The lines at the airports, the ports, anywhere there was a way to get off the island, people stood in long lines trying to escape, but there was no commercial service. Only mission flights and private pilots. The days after a hurricane are nearly always extraordinarily hot, oppressively humid and the sun is relentless. This was no exception. There was little or no shade, water or food. People were injured, traumatized and desperate. Almost everyone had only the clothes on their backs. They were left with nothing! When Dan and Jason were there, the island was eerily quiet, or alive with the roar of caterpillar diesels. The smell of death was still very pervasive. By then, most who could leave were elsewhere with family and friends, trying to heal wounds to bodies, hearts and minds. Linda listened to so many stories of unbelievable heroism, feats of superhuman effort and crippling loss. The thing she heard over and over from those whom she spoke was how grateful they were to be alive. A favorite Bahamian saying when taking your leave of someone is 'See you soon, God spares life.” Repeatedly she was told how Blessed they felt they were. Gratitude and thankfulness were on everyone's lips, no matter how tragic and total the loss. 'We're alive and blessed.”