Bahamas Hit by Microburst: Fierce winds, heavy rain cause widespread outages, property damage

Bahamas: A microburst of intense winds and heavy rain surged through the Bahamas on Friday night bringing about a massive power outage and severe destruction of properties across the island.

According to the Bahamas Department of Meteorology, the microburst tore through the island on September 12 around 9 p.m. bringing about heavy rain, accompanied by strong winds, and lightning that brought down some power lines and damage to infrastructure, particularly in the eastern communities.

Reports across the island have surfaced with citizens reporting damages of several properties including  homes, businesses, vehicles, etc. along Joe Farrington Road and surrounding communities with some destruction being caused by the fallen trees.

The Bahamas Power and Light company also known as BPL also confirmed that by Friday 9:19 p.m. the power outages were experienced  across various communities including the Eastern Road, Fox Hill Road South, Lumumba Lane, Nassau East, Johnson Road, Pineyard Road, St. Andrews Estates, Domingo Heights, Mount Vernon, Retirement Road, Blair Estates, Sea Breeze, and Imperial Park.

While the company reported that the power would be restored by Saturday afternoon, they also noted a lightning strike that occurred on Friday during the microburst leading to a transformer spark and fire at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island.

Anthony Christie, BPL Chief Operations Officer assured citizens that they will be working tirelessly to ensure that power at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island is restored as soon as possible along with the power on the 500 houses located in Imperial Park and Sea Breeze Lane along with areas of Fox Hill South and Blair Addition.

Efforts that were praised by Energy Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis for the company’s quick response to the commitment to restore citizen’s power after the damage caused by the microburst.

The government’s Energy Committee has confirmed that following the destruction that occurred during the microburst, they will be meeting on Monday to assess the damage and discuss the next steps to take in order to strengthen the island’s resilience.

Meanwhile the company has requested motorists to avoid the Fox Hill Road South area in order to limit traffic congestion and allow the crews to work safely. As of now, no community has reported any injuries or casualties which transpired during the microburst across the Bahamas.