Hurricane Matthew Gone But Not Forgotten

Photo: Julien Mulliez/DFID

After suffering massive damage that led to the evacuation of the island, the airport and roads into the popular South Carolina destination of Hilton Head reopened yesterday, along with the airport. But officials urged travelers and homeowners to stay away.

Said Mayor David Bennett, “I strongly urge you to consider waiting to return to the island if you are able to do so.”

Hurricane Matthew caused an “unprecedented amount of damage on Hilton Head Island,” Gov. Nikki Haley said in a news conference Monday. “Trees are down in a way we’ve never seen before.”

Meanwhile, two Sandals properties in the Bahamas will have to undergo repairs in the wake of the hurricane. Sandals Emerald Bay, located in Exuma, requires extensive repairs and will officially close. It is scheduled to reopen on Dec. 15.

The re-opening of the Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau is now pushed back from Oct. 14 to Oct. 25.

Travelers affected by those closures will have one year to travel to the same resort at no additional cost for the resort stay, or can stay at another property for no additional cost when travel is completed by Dec. 20, 2016. For travel after that date, guests are responsible for any difference in resort cost.

All air penalties and fees will be covered by Sandals for revisions made by Oct. 31, 2016. Guests will be responsible for any fees incurred after that date.

Fundraisers announced
The Sandals Foundation, Sandals’ philanthropic arm, has donated $150,000 to relief efforts in Haiti and the Bahamas.

Atlantis Paradise Island also launched a fundraising campaign to help the Bahamas rebuild. In a memo, president and managing director Howard Karawan said that while Atlantis was minimally affected, others in the Bahamas were not as fortunate. Now through Oct. 31, Atlantis will match all donations received dollar for dollar, with 100% of the proceeds going to The Bahamas Red Cross, up to $250,000. If you would like to donate to the Bahamas Relief Fund, go here.

United Airlines, meanwhile, is teaming up with major disaster relief organizations to help individuals and families affected by Hurricane Matthew. It pledged up to five million bonus miles to MileagePlus customers who make a donation to the American Red Cross, Americares, Airlink or OperationUSA using the web portal CrowdRise. United also will give up to $100,000 to match donations made to these partners.

“It is our hope that partnering with these organizations will help provide relief to those who need it most,” said Brett Hart, United’s executive vice president and general counsel.