BY KEVA LIGHTBOURNE, Guardian Senior Reporter

As if it had nursed a simmering grudge against the beautiful islands of The Bahamas, Hurricane Ike unleashed its fury on Inagua, pounding the island with deadly speed and power, frightening residents and causing untold damage to the National Park, the home to 60,000 West Indian flamingoes.

But, luckily, it spared the lives of residents.

Packing winds of 135 miles per hour, the eye of the category four hurricane passed over the island around 11 a.m. Sunday, instilling fear in residents.

"It's a scary thing and we are just praying and hoping for the best," one resident told The Nassau Guardian just before communication had been cut.

Managing Director of Morton Salt, Glenn Bannister, may have summed it up best, when he said "this is a major catastrophe."

Indeed, island Administrator Preston Cunningham described it as frightening.

"We haven't been through this in many, many years and some have never seen a storm of this magnitude and so they are a little worried," he said.

Reports indicate that Inagua's National Park, which is home to the largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingoes, may have suffered serious damage.

In a brief interview yesterday with the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas, Park Warden John Nixon did confirm, however, that when he was there several days ago, the roads leading to the turtle reserve were "washed out." The flooding he was referring to was caused by Tropical Storm Hanna, which remained essentially stationary in the Inagua/Haiti area for three days last week, dumping heavy rain.

"The flamingo section was in good condition, but the other side where the turtle reserve is, the roads up there were washed out pretty bad, with some damage to the structure of the buildings. The birds (flamingoes) that I saw, they were all hunkered down behind the huge mangroves, they were preparing themselves for it. When I went around there, there were still a few thousand hanging around but they were like in little flocks in sheltered coves, where we have the trees around then they were up in the coves out of the wind."

The park is also home to wild donkeys, wild goats and cows, and a variety of species of birds. It is a huge tourist attraction.

Hurricane Ike, which had earlier wreaked havoc in the Turks and Caicos Islands, leaving widespread flooding and other damage, also forced the evacuation of residents in the low-lying areas of Inagua. It even saw the evacuation of Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers from their Mathew Town base.

"Conditions are extremely bad here. We are experiencing a lot of rain and some very extreme wind," said RBDF Lt. Sonya Miller. "Defence Force officers had to move from the base because it was considered a low-lying area and just as a precaution, the officers moved from the site and the Maritime Unit because we would like to be in a position where we would be better able to assist the community."

She estimated that the island was experiencing between 135-140 mph winds.

Although not confirmed, it is believed that the damage left in the wake of the hurricane could quite easily stretch into millions of dollars.

The hours of pounding the island suffered also had New Providence residents praying for the islanders.

Indeed, Tabitha Porter telephoned into ZNS expressing concern for both her mother and grandmother, Virginia and Eugenie Darville.

"My mother and her husband are trying to get of their house now, because she said half of the roof is off. She said she had never seen anything like this in her life," said Porter. "The only thing she has in her hand is her important documents like her passport and whatever else they have. But they are trying to get out of the house right now."

At that time, Porter said it appears as if the other portion of the roof was about to go. Porter reported that her mother resides on the east side of the island. Her grandmother had been evacuated from her home earlier.

"I am extremely nervous right now. My hand is shaking and my heart is pounding because I don't know what is going on," Porter said. "She (her mother) seems like she is extremely nervous and scared."