1. Home
  2. Americas

Dominica's devastation and recovery in pictures

It will take years, but the Caribbean island's rebirth after Hurricane Maria is beginning

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Two boys cruise through Roseau’s dusty streets as schools remain by and large closed until the safety of their students and teachers is guaranteed. So far, senior level classes have begun trickling back

The destruction Hurricane Maria unleashed on the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica on the 19th of September, 2017 was absolute. Survivor Ivonne Salbon recalls the wind roaring like a “howling demon at the end of the world”.

A month later, the first seedlings of felled trees are once again sprouting, but it will be years if not decades before island life returns to normal.

“Dominicans are a people born from resistance,” says Salbon, clutching a cutlass to control the growth around her sprouting banana garden. “We faced down every adversity in our history; we can come out from under this nightmare too.”

Living on Mero Beach under the meagre shelter of an almond tree in bloom, his home obliterated by the storm, Glennsworth Irving finds shade but also hope: “If this tree can survive, we can survive,” he says. “If this tree can bear fruit, so will our island. All in due time.”

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A woman walks over the wreckage of a landslide that decimated the village of Pointe Michel. Ever since the Hurricane Maria roared over the island, potable water remains inaccessible for the vast majority of Dominica

A woman walks over the wreckage of the landslide that decimated the village of Pointe Michel. A month after the hurricane, there is no access to potable water for the vast majority of Dominicans.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Along the southern and eastern quarters of the country, where Category 5 Maria made landfall, the destruction was the most severe. The government’s efforts to clear debris have been overwhelmed by the scope of the catastrophe

The destruction is most severe in the southern and eastern quarters of the country where Maria made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane with sustatined winds of 160-175 mph (260-280 kph). Government-led efforts to clear the debris have been overwhelmed by the scale of the catastrophe.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Like most houses in New Town, flooding lead to extensive damage to homes. The mountainous terrain of Dominica also made for countless landslides to rush into villages below

Houses in the New Town area of the capital, Roseau, saw extensive flooding damage but were also hit by landslides due to the unstable, mountainous terrain above.

Destruction on Dominica after hurricane
Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Not a village was spared on the island of 70,000. 99% of trees were either left leafless or uprooted. In an official post-storm government survey, every house in the country has been damaged to some degree such as these houses hanging over a ravine in Mor

Not a village was spared on the island, population 70,000. Many trees were uprooted and nearly all were rendered leafless. An official post-storm government survey, said every house in the country has been damaged to some degree, including these properties perched on the edge of a ravine in Mor.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Security forces from the Eastern Caribbean arrived once looting started during Maria’s immediate chaotic aftermath. The unrest was quickly quelled, but a 6pm curfew remains over the capital of Roseau while a state of emergency remains in effect

Security forces from larger islands in the eastern Caribbean (Barbados, St. Lucia, and Antigua) were deployed to Dominica to prevent looting in Maria’s chaotic aftermath. The unrest was quickly quelled, but a 6pm curfew remains in place in Roseau, along with a state of emergency.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Soldiers and police monitor businesses around Dominica such as this super market in Roseau. Dominicans wait hours under the sun to top up their phones, withdraw cash from ATMs and purchase supplies for their households

Soldiers and police monitor businesses around the island, such as this supermarket in Roseau. Dominicans now have to wait for hours under the hot sun to top up their phones, withdraw cash from ATMs, and purchase supplies for their households.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
The mass flooding and debris-laden landslides destroyed motorways and bridges across Dominica. This bridge near Mero on the west side was critically damaged once before during Tropical Storm Erika in 2015

Mass flooding and debris-laden landslides destroyed several main roads and bridges across the island. This bridge near Mero was already badly damaged by Tropical Storm Erika in 2015. Parts of Dominica had yet to recover from that storm when Maria struck and took the destruction to a whole new level.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A miasma of burning rubbish, dust and rot lingers over Roseau. Dust is kicked up as an aid helicopter ferries aid back and forth into Windsor Stadium from foreign support ships anchored just off coast

Dust is kicked up as a helicopter carries aid into Windsor Stadium from foreign support ships anchored off the coast. A fetid odour of burning rubbish and rot hangs over the capital.

Jaco parrot in a tree in Dominica after Hurricane Maria
Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A rare Jaco Parrot, endemic to Dominica, scavenges for food in one of the island’s thrashed rain forests. Since Maria, sightings of the very same parrots emblazoned on the country’s flag, have been even more scarce raising fear of the parrots’ viability

An extremely rare red-necked (Jaco) parrot scavenges for food in one of the thrashed rainforests. These birds are only found on Dominica – known for its lush tropical vegetation and vibrant birds of paradise, it is often referred to as Nature Island. Since Maria, sightings of the bird, which features on the country's flag, have been scarce.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
The 280 km/h winds eradicated ancient forests that covered every canyon and valley on the island. Pockets of living foliage remain but the very identity of island is at stake. The thousand hues of green that covered Dominica have been stripped into a sing

The 280 kph winds denuded the ancient forests that cover every canyon and valley on the island. Pockets of foliage remain, but Dominica's very identity is at stake. A thousand hues of green have been stripped into a single shade of brown. Dominicans mourn the loss of their woodlands, but they know, having survived Erika – not to mention the ravages of Hurricane David in the 1970s – that the emerald canopy will grow back.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A man just outside the capital of Roseau clears his home of debris. Most Dominicans aren’t waiting for assistance from the central government, overwhelmed as it is. They’re taking to the streets with axes and shovels to clear the roads and their home

A man clears debris from his home outside Roseau. Most Dominicans aren’t waiting for assistance from the central government, overwhelmed as it is. They’re taking to the streets with axes and shovels to clear houses and roads themselves.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A father hands masks to his family. With waste disposal concentrated to key points in Roseau, locals burn heaps of debris and rotten wood planks making the air abrasive and filled with smoke

A father hands masks to his family. The burning of heaps of debris and rotten planks of wood has filled the air with abrasive smoke.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A fire brigade volunteer clears the mud from the streets in and around Roseau. The drainages were clogged with the dirt the flooding left behind. As Roseau is cleared of Maria’s wreckage, the cramped city is slowly bustling to life once again

A fire brigade volunteer washes mud off the streets in and around Roseau. Drains became clogged with the debris and dirt the flooding left behind. Roseau is painstakingly being cleared of Maria’s wreckage, and the city is slowly bustling back to life.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Internally displaced people post-Maria remain an unresolved issue. Though shelters exist, many traumatized Dominicans still amble around the island’s villages and coasts living off whatever aid they can find

Although there are shelters for those displaced by the storm, many traumatised Dominicans still meander around the island’s villages and coasts, living off whatever aid they can find.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A Dominican Electrical Company technician runs down the street as maintenance around critical hubs of the capital are set back online. Priorities now are governmental facilities as well as police barracks and emergency services

A technician from the Dominican Electrical Company runs down a main street in the capital. Getting government facilities, police barracks, and the emergency services back online has been a top priority. As the one-month mark approaches, Roseau’s stores and banks have also partially reopened.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
For some, waiting for the island to come back to normalcy simply isn’t an option. Either due to the complete loss of their home or having been victim to the mass layoffs sweeping certain industries on the island. Some are leaving with no plans to return

Waiting for Dominica to get back on its feet simply isn’t an option for some. Many people completely lost their homes in the storm and/or their jobs in the mass layoffs sweeping the island. A significant number of Dominicans are choosing to leave until the situation changes. Some have no plans to return.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A plug dangling from a private clinic becomes a vital charging station. With power out in 99% of the island, people have been desperate for power outlets to charge their phones and communicate with family abroad as well as loved ones around the country

A plug dangling from a private clinic becomes a vital charging station. With power out in 99 percent of the island, everyone is desperate to charge their phone to communicate with friends and family abroad or across Dominica.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Glennsworth Irving was made homeless after Maria blew his house away. He cooks rice a government truck dropped off on Mero Beach. He’s made shelter under a blooming almond tree, optimistic that much like the tree Dominica will come back again soon

Glennsworth Irving was rendered homeless when Maria blew his house away. He is cooking some rice dropped off by a government truck. Irving has fashioned a makeshift shelter under a blooming almond tree on Mero Beach. He is optimistic that – much like the tree – Dominica will soon come back to life.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
A grocer reopens with a bounty of cassava and plantains. Staple crops have started growing after Maria levelled most if not all of the crops around Dominica

A grocer reopens with a bounty of cassava and plantains. Staple crops are being harvested again, weeks after Maria brought agriculture to a standstill. Ivonne Salbon, a local farmer, isn’t that worried about the future. She says Dominica is a “blessed island with rich soil and divine providence”.

Tomás Ayuso/IRIN
Kadija, a Carib infant born only days before Maria struck, wakes on her makeshift crib at a shelter in the indigenous Kalinago Territories. Her mother, Francelea, remembers holding on to the newborn when Maria tore the roof from her wood plank shack

Kadija, born only days before Maria struck, awakes in her makeshift crib at a shelter for displaced people in the indigenous Kalinago Territories. Her mother, Francelea, remembers holding her newborn as the hurricane tore the roof off her wooden shack. She prayed for the storm to go away and spare them until it did. Francelea, a single mother, is now starting again, building another shack over the remains of the old one, anxious about her little one’s future.

(TOP PHOTO: Two boys cruise through Roseau’s dusty streets. Schools are gradually reopening as some kind of normalcy returns.)

mbh-ta/wp/ag

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join