WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Bahamian couple that was stranded in Florida due to Hurricane Dorian is now back in their hometown of Freeport, and in complete shock over the devastation they've seen so far.
Beverly and John Curtis stayed at a cousin's house in West Palm Beach for about a week as their family sent them videos and pictures of the storm.
The Curtises were anxious to get back to Freeport.
Last Thursday, they received notice from the Grand Celebration cruise that they could board to get back to Freeport. They had two hours to gather as many supplies as possible.
"Rushed to Sam's and loaded up the carts with as much things as possible for them to take back," said Marie Braziel, a cousin of the Curtises by marriage.
Back in Freeport now, John and Beverly Curtis have seen the devastation with their own eyes.
"I went into my mom and sister's neighborhood. I just cried and cried. It's terrible," Beverly Curtis said via a video phone call.
Water came up to Beverly's 87-year-old mom's chest during the storm. The flooding caused all of her furniture to float.
"The bed, the dining room table, the fridge, everything had to be thrown out," Curtis said. "You have to work quickly because of the mold."
Beverly said she's had to wait three to four hours in line to get gas, and there's nowhere to get supplies to reinforce the homes still standing.
"Definitely people will have to travel to the U.S. for building supplies," Curtis said. "This morning, I got up and I felt like my heart was about to give up and I said, wow, why am I feeling like this, you know? And then you remember what you just went through."
Braziel is gathering supplies locally to hand off to her cousins when they return in a week for more help.
"I know it can be very heartbreaking. We are not there, we are here, but we continue with our faith and prayer," Braziel said.
This story was originally published by Michelle Quesada on
WPTV
in West Palm Beach, Florida.
