That was the message from St Lucia’s prime minister Allen Chastanet, who visited the Bahamas to share best disaster relief practice shortly after Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands endured the full force of the category five storm for some 36 hours.

“We’ve all seen the pictures, but the situation on the ground is much worse,” Chastanet told TTG.

“It was two or three days before anyone could get there – that’s five days, on their own, in the dark.

“However, we must not promote the idea the whole country has shut down. We don’t want to create an economic crisis during what is already a humanitarian catastrophe.

“The critical thing is that the Bahamian government recognises the impact of climate change. It’s now an opportunity for these islands to reinvent themselves and ensure the infrastructure to protect people’s homes and lives is there.”

The Foreign Office continues to warn against all but essential travel to Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands, but updated its advice last Wednesday (11 September) to stress travel to other islands in the Bahamas is unaffected.