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Hurricane relief efforts begin for ‘decimated’ Abaco Islands

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The Abaco Club on Winding Bay, which for each of the past two years has hosted a Korn Ferry Tour event, has started a GoFundMe page to help the Bahamian island begin to recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Dorian.

Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas on Sept. 1, packing sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts over 200 mph. While the storm stalled for nearly two days over Grand Bahama Island, it first collided with Abaco and the town of Marsh Harbour and left little standing in its wake.

“It’s total devastation,” Lia Head-Rigby told the Associated Press after taking a flyover of the islands as part of a relief effort. “It’s decimated. Apocalyptic.”

While the course itself reported “manageable damage,” other nearby areas of the island were less fortunate. Aerial shots show miles of uprooted trees and homes without roofs amid a rescue and recovery effort that is still ongoing. Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told reporters Wednesday that the storm-related death toll stands at 20 but is expected to rise.

The official GoFundMe page has been set up as part of the Abaco-Winding Bay Relief Fund, with all contributions going back to the people of Abaco “in the form of food, shelter, medical aid, supplies and assistance in the island’s clean-up and rebuilding efforts.” More than $350,000 has been donated toward the stated $3 million goal, with Southworth Development, which owns The Abaco Club, pledging to match the first $1 million in donations.

The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic has been the second stop of the Korn Ferry Tour schedule for each of the last two years, preceded by the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at nearby Sandals Emerald Bay.