In a tiny community just outside of Whitehouse, Robert Morris rested against a slab of broken concrete. Behind him, the fishing village he has called home his entire life has been destroyed, along with his livelihood.
“We all devastated here, man,” he said. He said the boat house was destroyed and is now “flat”.
“Melissa take everything down,” he said, including his fishing boat, which he describes as “mashed up”.
Morris also told of “no help, no food, no water”.
“We just have to try and see what we can do,” he said, adding that his plan was to find someone whose boat was still intact so that he could join and fish.
Even then, he is not sure where he would sell his catch.
The people in these areas are filled with pride and resilience, words that are often repeated on local radio stations and visible through their optimism in the most difficult circumstances.
Seated under the facade of a badly damaged building, Roy Perry said he has lost everything, but “we have to just keep the faith and the hope is up still”.