While rain continued to drench every inch of Long Island on Thursday, the first glare of sunshine that pierced the sky over Deadman's Cay shortly after noon, signaled good news for residents who had endured the non-stop rainfall of Tropical Storm Noel for the past four days.

As residents emerged from their homes to assess the damage, they were in total shock, as up to four feet of waist-deep water had engulfed the main road in some low-lying areas, leaving many with water-filled homes, stalled cars, ruined crops, and just a glimmer of hope that the island would be fully restored to normalcy.

Yesterday Assistant Superintendent of Police Lindy Knowles, charged with overseeing the entire island, told The Nassau Guardian that as of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 51 persons had been evacuated, and there was still a lot of water blocking access to certain settlements. Luckily, no injuries were reported, but there was much damage to property.

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Tropical Storm Noel caused massive flooding in Cat Island, resulting in the New Bight Airport being engulfed in water and planes having to be pushed to higher ground.

According to Inspector Phillip Rolle the massive flooding almost forced officers from the New Bight Police Station to evacuate, as the water was only inches away from flooding the station. He added that a team of officers will assess the island today, to see if any search-and-rescue operations would have to take place, due to persons being stranded in their homes as a result of the flooding.

"The New Bight Airport is under water, we had to use the manpower we had, to push aircraft to higher ground, so we would definitely have a lot of work to do on Friday (today) in terms of returning the island to a state or normalcy," Rolle said.

"In the south persons were warned not to attempt to pass that area, because the road is completely covered with water and cars are not able to pass. Persons in very large trucks were successful in getting through but we wouldn't advise persons to travel in that area."

Settlements that were said to be in deep water included McQueens, Devil's Point and Douvs. Rolle added that the area between Dean's Highway and Devil's Point had the most excessive flooding.

With water reaching high levels, Rolle said 26 persons had to be evacuated after their homes sustained damage.

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Tropical Storm Noel left three to four feet of water on San Salvador's roads Thursday, according to a police reservist who said he was almost washed away on his way to relieve a sergeant trapped in the police station overnight.

The reservist, District Constable 825 Gibson, and his wife miscalculated the depth of the water in the road and were swept away in their car, he told The Nassau Guardian last night.

The couple were rescued by Bahamas Electricity Corporation employees who were working in the area.

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