Hurricane Dorian evacuees: County spends $409,000, stands by decision
"There is no evidence anyone asked them to do this," said
Deputy County Administrator
"It was absolutely necessary," Van Arnam said. "There were people who had no money. No people to meet. No place to go."
Of the 1,400 refugees Bahamas Paradise brought to the
The questions of how many evacuees might eventually be brought to the county and who will pay to help them will be ongoing concerns for government officials as Bahamians continue to struggle in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. The monster Category 5 storm devastated northern parts of the archipelago when it made landfall
Bahamas Paradise's Grand Celebration ship is expected to bring more evacuees from the battered islands Wednesday morning, when it docks at the
Van Arnam said the number of new arrivals could match the 1,400 evacuees who arrived on
The county doesn't know if it can get federal reimbursement for helping the evacuees.
"We're willing to help here," he said, "but our local taxpayers shouldn't bear the burden alone, especially if (relief efforts) get longer."
http://www.infomaker.se/idf/1.0" id="strong-ad043f19b35f815f5c3710a54fa8ca28">County offers aid
Evacuees took advantage of the county's assistance on
"All the personnel we had there were very busy," he said. "They had a line the whole time."
The county had a half-dozen buses at the port to help with transportation. And the county arranged to have evacuees use a state payment code so they could be transported via the ride-sharing service
In a letter to commissioners, County Administrator
In addition to transportation and shelter, Baker told commissioners a mobile medical unit served 60 evacuees, mostly women and children, including expectant mothers.
"Several evacuees were missing medication," Baker wrote. "There were 81 evacuees screened for communicable diseases. Immunizations were given to nine adults and 14 children."
Some evacuees "transitioned to temporary housing and the shelter was demobilized," Baker wrote, adding that the county housed 68 people in 26 hotel rooms.
Local governments have endured long waits before getting reimbursed for storm-related costs -- and that's when the storm actually made landfall in their area.
It is unclear if the Trump administration would support a request for reimbursement for costs
Gov.
The county isn't holding its breath for reimbursement from the federal government.
"We haven't gotten any indications from the feds that they will assist local governments with these costs," Van Arnam said. "The likelihood is not high."
http://www.infomaker.se/idf/1.0" id="strong-28532d1153ae08eaf995ec0d4b5cbace">Bahamians lined up
Bahamas Paradise has offered low-cost cruise service from the port to
After Dorian devastated northern portions of the
On
"Our plan was to just go and help," Khosa said.
But when the ship docked at
Some could pay for the trip; others could not.
Khosa said he decided to allow all to be evacuated for free, provided they had a valid passport, a visa and no criminal history.
"We empathize with their situation," Khosa said. "We have spent millions on it so far. We wanted to do the right thing."
Van Arnam said the county did not know what the evacuees would or would not need upon their arrival.
"There was little or no coordination between the cruise line and the county," he said. "It was something that we had to react to. We had no idea if there would be 500 people who would get off that ship and have no place to go or 50 people who would show up here and have no place to go."
Khosa said he made it clear the cruise line needed no assistance.
"We told everybody we didn't think we needed any help," he said. "I don't know who asked the county to step up to help."
Non-profits working with the cruise line are now communicating with the county, Van Arnam said, adding that he understands and shares the desire to help that has motivated the cruise line and people throughout the county.
"They have good hearts," he said. "They're doing it with the right intentions. You're seeing the outpouring of support in the community. It's been fantastic."
@WayneWashpbpost
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