It was the one of the most ferocious storms in the history of the Atlantic hurricane season, and the deadliest natural disaster to strike the Bahamas.

This week marks one year since the onslaught of Hurricane Dorian on the north islands of the Caribbean nation left at least 74 dead and hundreds missing.

But the Bahamian Association of Bermuda, forged into a tight group by the disaster, is now at the forefront in the latest round of help.

Work to recover continues in Abaco and Grand Bahama, a region where tourism and industry has collapsed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Angie Farquharson, vice-president of the charity, was one of a group of five volunteers who rushed to assist in the distribution of emergency aid from Bermuda last year.

Ms Farquharson, a Bermudian who lived on Grand Bahama for 13 years, fought back emotion as she talked about the devastation she had witnessed.

She said: “You could stand in the road and look right through someone’s house, where people would have come back and had nothing left.

“There were smells from dead animals, from food that had rotted — that would have been two weeks after the storm hit.”

But she added the worst experiences were “the stories people shared as they came to collect items” that had been donated.

Ms Farquharson said survivors spoke of “people being swept right out of your hand”.

Dorian struck the region as a Category 5 storm, the top of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane measurement scale, on September 1, and made landfall with maximum winds of 185mph.

Ron Pinder, president of the Bahamian Association, said social media, particularly Facebook and WhatsApp, relayed the shock as it happened to outsiders.

Mr Pinder added: “My uncle in Grand Bahama lived in a second storey house and he was saying the water was still coming up.”

Contact was lost after his uncle’s roof collapsed — relatives found out later he had fled to a neighbour’s home and survived.

Mr Pinder said: “We were getting videos constantly and people calling for help. That was how some were rescued.”

Dorian was not only the strongest recorded hurricane to hit the Bahamas, but slow-moving — it took two days to pass over as it pummelled the region.

Mr Pinder said: “It was a horrific, traumatic experience, and people are still trying to put their lives back together.”

But both praised the tenacity of Bahamians and the scale of relief — including 100 tonnes of Bermudian aid that arrived later that September.

Hurricane-savvy Bermudians rallied to purchase and package supplies including lumber and nails as well as food, water, diapers and toiletries.

Mr Pinder said the help now involved working with non-governmental organisations in the Bahamas, rather than shipping in aid supplies.

He added: “We are in the middle of formalising another outreach effort to get food items to the displaced.

“Covid-19 has added insult to injury. People are already displaced and now there is an economic downturn, so recovery has been slow.”

But the pair said some communities had rebounded, including Hope Town in Abaco, Green Turtle Cay and Baker’s Bay.

The two said, however, that shipping, financial services and other industries had taken a hit from the pandemic.

Ms Farquharson added: “It’s important to mention the mental fatigue of people who have tried to get their lives together, and then Covid hits.

“I just spoke to an aunt who was not directly affected by Dorian, but she’s so affected by the pandemic keeping her in the house all the time.”

The association in Bermuda has formed relationships on the ground through its aid work.

The group has now launched an effort to help the vulnerable — and has asked the corporate sector in the Bahamas to match their donations or help with distribution.

The association also works with churches, food aid organisations and charities in the Bahamas.

Mr Pinder said: “The churches have never stopped. Their doors have remained open.

“This has been a source of much strength and relief, fighting the depression and feelings of hopelessness.”

The work, with the sponsorship of the Bahamas Christian Council, also helped hurricane victims forced to move elsewhere.

Mr Pinder said: “It’s one thing to lose everything. It’s another thing not to have a sense of hope. The churches have gone a long way.”

The Miami Herald reported in June that Dorian’s death toll, with so many bodies never recovered, was likely “far higher” than official figures.

Ms Farquharson said: “It takes years to recover. You’re recovering hearts and minds, as well as infrastructure.

“Add Covid to that and it’s extended. The saving grace is the Bahamian people.

“They’ll rebound with support, not only from Bermuda but worldwide.”

• To help, contact Angie Farquharson at 534-1802 or angiefarquharson@gmail.com, or Ron Pinder at 519-3746 or ronpinder@hotmail.com