‘I’m still breathing’

Duane Bryan knew his board house wouldn’t survive Hurricane Melissa. So hours before the storm made landfall, the Portland farmer left his home in the upper Rio Grande Valley, Portland. When he returned the next day, there was nothing left.

“I am happy to be alive, and now with the help of friends, I have marked out a new spot to begin construction of a new house, but this time using concrete blocks,” Bryan said.

His decision to evacuate was shaped by painful memories of past storms. Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 and Hurricane Beryl just last year both destroyed his home. This time, he wasn’t taking any chances.

“When I came here on Wednesday, I was not really surprised at what I saw, and that was the reason I left home in the first place,” he said. “I just knew this board structure was not going to withstand this hurricane, which, according to the weather people, was a dangerous storm.”

The storm left his furniture soaked and exposed.

“My beds are wet, but I’m still breathing, and that is important,” he added. “The entire structure was demolished ... So I have sand and some building blocks, and this time around I’m building stronger.”

Bryan said Hurricane Melissa wasn’t the worst he had experienced, calling Hurricane Gilbert “a giant above all storms”, including Beryl, Ivan, Dean, Sandy, and Gustav.

Across the upper Rio Grande Valley – including Comfort Castle, Cornwall Barracks, Bellevue, Mill Bank, and Moore Town – the storm left a trail of destruction. Dozens of homes lost roofs or suffered structural damage while fallen utility poles, power lines, and trees littered the landscape for miles.

For residents like Billcon Phillips, whose board house collapsed; Leroy Simmonds, who lost his entire roof; and Edwin Thompson, whose four-bedroom concrete home was severely damaged, the road to recovery is daunting.

They are now appealing for help – in cash or building materials – to begin rebuilding their lives.

editorial@gleanerjm.com