Hurricane Maria Before and After (Photo Story)

Exactly one month ago, life changed overnight for the people on the small Caribbean island of The Commonwealth of Dominica, also known as The Nature Island. An island that once attracted nature lovers, adventure seekers, and wellness warriors, is no more.

The night of September 18th, 2017, Hurricane Maria evolved from a category 1 to a category 5 storm in less than 18 hours (one of the fastest strengthening on record), just before it made landfall on Dominica and completely devastated the island. It thrashed the country with extreme winds and rain and destroyed all in its path. At the time of landfall, sustained winds, which were reported to be 260 km/h, affected the entire population.

To see the documentary I created from my heart and spirit, our hurricane survival story, watch here. To read more about the aftermath, click here.

Our photo story...

 Galvanize roofing everywhere   Credits - El Latino Digital

Our village of Castle Bruce    Credits - Wavemaker Photography

  Dominica rainforest - Before and After Maria

Mountain    Credits - Chad Ambo

  Trees were either derooted and fallen, broken or debarked

The remains of our garden

Our dog Goji, cats Maca and Chia, and goats Gigi and Baba survived the storm 

As you may know, we’re The S Family, the creators of Beyond Vitality Nature Camp, a small family-run eco lodge and homestead. Our home and eco lodge (also our lively hood) were destroyed by the storm. Myself (Sara), my husband Stephan, and our two small children, 5-year-old Skyla and 18-month-old Sadiel, survived the storm in our cob house, under a fallen wooden closet in cold water when our roof was forcefully ripped off and exposed us to the dangers of the hurricane.

Our cob bedroom (home)

Home sweet home

  The closet which we survived the hurricane under

 Our bubble of protection

Skyla's bed

Roof gone

Windows, door, and roof gone

Looking for toys she can salvage

Have you ever been through an earthquake, a flood, a tornado, a war zone with the atmospheric pressure and noise of a plane taking off all at once? That is the best way some have described the experience. We were sitting in the dark not knowing if we would come out alive.

Have you ever been through an earthquake, a flood, a tornado, a war zone with the atmospheric pressure and noise of a plane taking off all at once? That is the best way some have described the experience. We were sitting in the dark not knowing if we would come out alive.

View of the valley

We haven't lost everything - grateful for precious life

Salvaging for some dry clothing

Big sister taking care of baby brother

All structures on our 6 acres of mountainous tropical rainforest land were wiped out or severely damaged, apart from the last remaining structure where our guests/friends were staying, but which filled up with mud from a landslide.

Our cob house (home)

Our dining area

Our bathroom area

Our veranda

Where the kids used to play

Our open air cabin (homeschooling/music room)

The hammock hut (eco-lodge)

Mud, mud, mud!

Cashew cabin

Cashew cabin is no more

Material things

Guava room

Outdoor guest kitchenette

Mango room

View of the valley

The remainder of the week, our holistic health and rewilding skills were put to the test when we had to shelter in our vehicle, collect rainwater, forage and treat some of our minor injuries with herbs from the landscape.

Our bed for the week

Naptime

Exhausted Skyla

Our house for the week

The "play car"

Snack time

Rainwater collection and washing up

Need some diapers for baby

Foraging a bunch of bananas

Lunchtime

The birds were hungry as well (fruit trees down)

Drying clothing and bedding

Mission "clear the road"

Found the toothbrushes..."yay"

Salvaged toys = happy boy

Cuddles and milk

Myself and the kids were eventually airlifted and evacuated to another island. We are now in Sturgeon Falls living with the children’s grandparents (Ama and Ampa) and raising funds to help our country and community rebirth after the catastrophic storm took everything in its path.

Is it here for us?

  Trinidad helicopter arrives - pack your bag and let's go!

Smile!

Wait...two helicopters? Venezuela arrives

Trek down to the helicopter through all the fallen trees and debris

Almost there

Medical check

Medical check for the kiddies

 Wait, daddy isn't coming?! 

In we go

Here we go - bye-bye home, bye-bye daddy. Where next? What now?

1.Nuestra Fuerza de Tarea Humanitaria Simón Bolívar rescató a familia atrapada en #CastleBruce, Dominica¡Venezuela GRANDE y SOLIDARIA! pic.twitter.com/wwSJDYHAXQ

— Néstor Luis Reverol (@NestorReverol) September 24, 2017

Stephan remained in Dominica due to "immigration complications", and to care for our cats, dog, and goats along with the remains of our home. He joined forces with some of our friends. Being separated was worse than the hurricane itself...but we kept smiling! 

The "apocalypse crew" a.k.a daddies

Our family will proceed with the beginning phase of our eco-village vision which was being manifested just before the storm hit. Stephan has no Canadian Visa to be able to reunite with us, so we plan to return to the island in November when we will access the situation and begin the rebuilding process with a climate-resilient and sustainability goal in mind. It will be a long road to recovery, but not an impossible one.

We have been touched by the incredible support we have received from people around the globe. 

We have thus far witnessed the worst of Mother Nature, but the best of Humanity.

Mother nature is fierce

The aftermath

Survivors

Dominica is down, but not out. We are a part of the Dominica strong that will return and help the island come back even stronger. Our family has a new perspective on what it means to be alive, and what it means to work in community. Living in the now and appreciating the small things has never been of greater importance.

To see the documentary I created from my heart and spirit, our hurricane survival story, watch here. To read more about the aftermath, click here.