VIDALIA, Ga. — Ashley Driggers holds on to what she remembers of her home island in the Bahamas before Hurricane Dorian.
"I grew up on an Island from Green Turtle Cay in Abaco, Bahamas. I lived there until I was 17. My parents are natives, my dad's parents are natives. My mom was from England," she said.
She knows a life on the beach has its risks.
"I remember going through multiple hurricanes as a child, sleeping in my living room, putting mattresses up against the door, because the wind was causing the door to buckle in and out," Driggers said.
She moved to Georgia to attend Valdosta State, got married, and now teaches in Vidalia.
Her family still lives in the Bahamas, and stayed during the storm.
"My mom's last message to me was that the winds were really bad, she believed they were up to 100 at that time. The shingles, they could hear the shingles coming off the roof, that they could hear the trees hitting the roof and hitting the house around them," she said.
That was the last she heard from her mom on Sunday. She did not hear from them again until the next afternoon.
"I got a brief message from my dad from a Garmin device, a GPS device, a short message that said, 'Family is okay. total devastation but we're okay.' That's the only thing I know. I don't know if they have a roof over their head," she said.
For now all she can do is wait, which she says is the hardest part.
"I don't even want to see pictures until they start to rebuild, because I want my memories. I don't want to see what it looks like. Destroyed. It's very scary to think about," she said.
Driggers listed these GoFundMe pages for those who'd like to donate to people in Abaco, Bahamas:
Green Turtle Cay Hurricane Recovery Fund
STAY ALERT | Download our FREE app now to receive breaking news and weather alerts. You can find the app on the Apple Store and Google Play.
STAY UPDATED | Click here to subscribe to our Midday Minute newsletter and receive the latest headlines and information in your inbox every day.
Have a news tip? Email news@13wmaz.com, or visit our Facebook page.