BAHAMAS: Hurricane Dorian

Cultural exchange became a vital link to heritage recovery after Hurricane Dorian wreaked devastation on the Bahamas. As participants in the 1994 Folklife Festival, when Richard Kurin reached out to them, the community knew where to turn for help with initial assessment and salvage for its museums. This immediate response and advice will support stabilizing collections so that they can receive advanced conservation later, saving treasures that might otherwise be lost.

A five member Smithsonian team that included the Smithsonian Libraries traveled to the Bahamas in November 2019 to conduct preliminary damage assessments after the hurricane. The team visited close to 20 sites affiliated with the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas and The National Museum of The Bahamas, Antiquities, Monuments and Museum Corporation and assisted with damage assessment and next steps for salvage and stabilization.

Before hitting the ground, SCRI staff prepared a map and a Bahamas watchlist to inventory affected areas, helping the mission team plan. SCRI also convened other resources to aid the mission.

SCRI has engaged the State Department, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the International Council on Museums Disaster Resilient Museums Committee in information sharing and collaboration. The State Department provided an Ambassador’s Fund grant that provided additional conservation supplies to two community museums on the Abaco Islands.

In the research department of SCRI, the Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) interns aided the ground team with a scan of social media and news for information on ground conditions, such as disaster recovery and information about cultural organizations. They also developed a portfolio of pre-and post-Dorian images of sites the mission visited. Coming from six colleges and universities across the country, the interns participated in this important Smithsonian project from their campuses.  The outcome of their learning will ultimately lead to better protection for heritage.