Searching for Dominica’s colour
Hurricane Maria’s devastating path in the Caribbean also snatched away the island’s beautiful colour.
Hurricane Maria hit Dominica as a category-five storm on 18 September 2017. Relentless winds destroyed most of the country’s infrastructure, bridges and roadways, including power and water supply lines. UNICEF estimates 20,000 children are affected in Dominica. The once-colourful mountainsides are now pale; the few standing trees are branchless and the palm trees resemble telephone poles, leafless.
Across the street in Roseau, the capital city of Dominica, mountains of dry mud pile up. Telephone poles have fallen, cars smashed and bent roof sheets are strewn across the ground. While some residents are starting to rebuild their shattered lives, many are still in a state of shock.
“Mommy, don’t cry,” said four-year-old Adriana Joseph, tears welled in her eyes, as the overflowing river rushed dangerously under their feet and into their house. “The hurricane will calm down,” she added trying to comfort her mum.
But her mother, Abigail Walsh, broke down in tears. It was 8pm and Hurricane Maria had just started unleashing its force upon the island.
Adriana and her brother, three-year-old Akeanno Joseph, survived the rising floodwaters standing on a table in the living room, clinging to their mother’s shoulder for over 40 minutes.
Abigail explains that Akeanno is still afraid to go to the river. “I am still in shock myself,” she said.
A soaked photo album with a picture of a baby lies on a veranda. Outside the house, furniture, clothes, appliances, toys and other belongings are piled on a crude mass of mud, drying ruined in the sun.
Jacey Anselm hugs her pet Sassy close to her. Sassy was always precious, but since Hurricane Maria tore their home apart, the nine-year-old Dominica girl and her mum Celine Fingall have very little else left.
“It’s about starting back. We have nothing now,” Celine says as she points to the still rain-soaked furniture, clothes and other possessions in their second-floor apartment in the tight-knit community of Loubiere, about 15 minutes’ drive from Roseau.
“We knew the storm was coming but I was not expecting this,” says Ingersol Labad. He’s standing on the second floor of the house. “I could touch the water from up here,” he says showing the level the water reached.
With most houses destroyed and rubble lining the road, Roseau is one of the hardest-hit areas. Remote communities remain cut off as collapsed bridges and damaged roads prevent access.
Salisbury, a town on the west coast of the island, was without water or electricity for over a week. After Hurricane Irma battered the Caribbean region, Hurricane Maria increased the number of children and families needing immediate support. A girl stands at the ocean’s edge
It is extremely busy at the port in Roseau. A number of cargo ships, helicopters and speedboats are preparing to deliver UN and NGO relief cargo to hard-to-reach areas.
Ahead of Hurricane Irma and Maria, UNICEF prepositioned life-saving supplies in Panama, Antigua and Barbuda, including drinking water, medicines and emergency kits, to help families cope with the aftermath. A mother and daughter carry a Hygiene and Dignity Kit in Roseau.
“We are very thankful for this water. We can never get enough,” says Rosemund Leurvin, shelter manager at the Loubiere Resource Centre, housing 52 people from the community, including 15 children and three babies.
Many residents are fearful of drinking or even bathing in the river for fear of contamination.
The river, which broke its banks, washing houses into the sea, still flows across the main road running through the district. Athena Dareux washes her clothes in one of the rivers of Roseau.
“I actually could smell the river. The mud. I could hear the river roaring, the stones, the water. All of the sudden the river came on the road and came all inside the house,” explains Fermin Toussant, 19. “I was afraid. Everybody was. People died.”
“The night of the hurricane I was listening to the radio to be informed. I was shivering like a leaf,” says Russell Raymond, 14. “The day after I went outside with my camera. There was water everywhere. Roofs gone. I was amazed because of all the destruction the hurricane caused.”
“Every day I take pictures of the sunset. I love them because they are always different. This the first sunset I captured in the aftermath. It was like Dominica was fighting to get its colour back,” Russell added.
Learn more about UNICEF’s appeal for children affected by Hurricane Maria in Dominica.
