There are so many epic stories of survival emerging from the rubble left behind by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. When the storm surge flooded his house, Devonde Robinson hung on to the roof in the darkness, as the storm raged.
"Pitch black, trees, logs or anything could've hit you while you're in the water or even sharks and fishes and things would swim at you passing by, as the water was coming from the north side, sharks and things were in the water," Robinson said.
Dorian destroyed the neighborhood known as High Rock, on the far eastern end of Grand Bahama Island. Homes here aren't just damaged, many are obliterated.
"Everyone in my family survived, but my cousins and them, and close friends, I had some of them die right in the front door, like I say, a whole family, two families, nine people in one house, just got washed away, we still haven't found some of their bodies yet," Robinson said.
The hurricane unleashed its full fury of 180-mile-an-hour winds and a relentless storm surge on High Rock. Those who survived all seem to know people who did not.
"There were some people in the house in the back," said Javon Pinder, pointing at a ruined structure near his home. "I don't remember the exact amount, I think it was about seven persons, and we haven't seen them, our assumption is they probably got washed out to sea.
A group of volunteers went through the remote area on Tuesday, passing out meals and water. They were part of the Grand Celebration cruise ship's second relief mission to Freeport. The ship once again delivered about 800,000 pounds of goods, including much-needed building supplies. As desolate as High Rock looks now, the residents are looking ahead.
"Now? Well, we're just cleaning up and trying to rebuild, put back together as much as we can," Pinder said.
The volunteers included former NBC 6 news photographer Mike Zimmer, who went along to bear witness with his camera, to document the destruction and show the world that those decimated areas of the Bahamas still have massive needs.
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"How do you rebuild, where do those supplies come from, how do you rebuild the infrastructure of power, those are all the pieces that you have to start looking at and who takes care of that one month from now, two months from now, that type of time frame," Zimmer said.
The Bahamas relief operation will require a long-term commitment from the outside world.
"We are still in discovery mode, nobody knows the extent of the damage fully yet, nobody knows how many have died yet, nobody knows what they're gonna find once they remove the debris," said Oneil Khosa, the CEO of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.
Click here for a list of organizations providing relief services to the Bahamas.
