Social media shines strobe light on devastation in Bahamas

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Shanae Roberts says the last 24 hours have been the “most traumatic in her life."

"I've never seen anything like this, ever,” she said.

The mother of two was in her apartment while Dorian pummeled her city of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island.

"I have a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old and they're in the house, and they're just looking at me like, ‘Mom, you've got to be our pillar of strength,’ and I am there just trying not to freak out,” Roberts said.

The family took shelter in a bathroom right after the shutters flew off the windows and their windows shattered.

"We're praying that everything is going to work out, and the bathroom started to cave in, the tiles, from the impact of the wind. It was like a tornado hitting the building, and caused the tiles to fall down. We were just terrified," she said.

Tatyana Rolle, who grew up on the island, says she has watched the destruction unfold on social media.

"I have seen some Facebook-lives from some friends who are there, and it is bad,” Rolle said.

In an effort to do anything from her home in Texas, Rolle set up a group on Facebook called “Abaco Family Connect” where families can post about their loved ones they have yet to hear from.

"It’s very heart-wrenching to know that so many people are still out there, and their loved ones do not know they're OK, or what's going on,” Rolle said.

She says right now, it looks like the island is beyond repair; a shell of the community she grew up in.

"It's just filled with beautiful, strong people who would be willing to give the clothes off their back to anyone in need,” Rolle said. “A lot of us abroad who can't be home, it hurts us. It literally hurts us, just to watch all of these strong people literally lose everything."