We’ve never been to the Ragged Islands before, so we really can’t offer a Before/After comparison, but walking through Duncan Town, the only settlement in the Ragged Islands, your heart aches for those that lived and raised their families here. Before Irma there were around 200 people living in the Ragged Islands, almost all of them in Duncan Town, which is located on the island of Ragged Cay. Their was a city hall, a police station, a school, a church, a few modest homes, and a couple of businesses. The town was nearly leveled. The school is gone, the city hall and police station are unsafe. The people are mostly gone. 40 brave souls are trying to recover their lives. Bahamians are resilient people, so I’m confident the town will come back in some form, but lives were destroyed in a matter of hours last summer by Hurricane Irma and her 200 MPH winds.
One of the remaining townspeople getting some much needed rest. His home, now just a shell.Every building was seriously damaged and many are just rubble now.The city Hall is abandoned and open to the elements.It’s impossible to take a picture without capturing the devastation and yet, a momma and her chicks scratch out a living.The Police Station has been moved to the church which is one of the few buildings that is being repaired.The city water and electrical system was destroyed. The electrical plant is now just a portable construction site generator and the RO Water Maker is just the same as what we used to have on our Manta 40, Double Wide.Commerce finds a way, even with all the devastation from Irma. Maxine owns the only “Store” in Duncan Town and amongst the debris, she has found a way to serve her community. The The clothesline is full of drying conch that will be shipped to New Providence and from there will find its way to markets in China.
