SUFFOLK, Va. — Even though Hurricane Dorian is no more, the destruction left behind in the Bahamas is far from gone.
A team of seven people from Skydive Suffolk left to help the islands last Wednesday and now they’re back in Hampton Roads.
Over the past week, they delivered more than 50,000 pounds of supplies from two of their skydiving planes.
We’re talking about everything from barrels of fuel, 1,500 gallons of water, hundreds of tarps and meals, 50 chainsaws, motorcycles, generators and more. All of it was donated to the people in the Bahamas from the community of Lauderdale, Florida.
In a time of desperation, the team said people on the island received the help with grace.
“Everybody was well behaved, everybody was polite,” said pilot Paul Werbin.
Werbin said he’s flown to the Bahamas many times. “It’s hard to see what these people went through,” he said.
While there, he saw friends of his who were now left without anything.
Everyone on the team described the sight when they first flew in as unforgettable.
“Very first thing you notice is the entire forest just snapped in half. I mean just devastation. It’s unbelievable,” said Drop Zone Manager, Ross Leventhal.
The skydive team even helped with larger evacuations in remote areas. Pilot Christopher Smith said they helped “firefighters and paramedics that had been stuck down there for a while, got them back to the United States.”
The entire effort was coordinated through the Blue Tide Marine Team. That’s a group, including Special Forces operators, who supports rescue teams with recovery efforts in large areas.
Now back home, the team is reflecting on the time there as humbling.
“Very body tingling and kind of beside myself with gratitude actually,” said skydiving instructor, Terry Wood.
“It was nothing I’ll ever forget,” said gear manager, Mikel Manthey III.
The group hopes people will continue to help as they can by donating to reputable Hurricane Dorian recovery organizations.
For now, they hold their heads up high as they made at least some difference to the people most in need.
“We came out feeling like we really did a lot of good," said Werbin.