this is "nightline." >> tonight, brave women everywhere breaking their silence about sexual assault, and now the olympic gold medalist michaela maroney saying me too, claiming she was sexually abused by her team usa doctor for years, pointing to a man now in prison for other sex crimes and facing accusations from over 100 young women. former gymnastics stars speaking out. >> he was in my room late at night, giving me treatment in my own bed. plus, paradise lost. >> people are short of food, they're short of electricity. >> we are on the ground in dominica, the caribbean country that suffered the highest death toll per capita in hurricane maria. >> this used to be what you'd call a living room. >> one month later, desperate to

make contact with the world. >> it's bad. it's really, really bad, yeah. >> why the country's prime minister says his people are on the front lines of climate change. jcpenney, friday through sunday, select towels, flannels for him, denim for the kids, $15 sweatshirts for her. save an extra 20%. hurry, ends sunday. jcpenney. sometimes a cough gets in the way of a good night's sleep. that's when he notes vick's vaporub, proven cough medicine with eight hours of vapors so he can sleep. >> number one coming up in 60 se how's it going down there? that's good. lica misses you. i'm over it though. (laughter) that's fine. i miss her more than you anyway. ♪ ♪ hey, my window is closing.

yeah that's okay. alright miles. i love you. (phone hangs up) ♪ ♪ yeah i love you too. ♪ ♪

good evening. we begin here with a new high-profile allegation of sexual assault. this time from a superstar athlete. michaela maroney, gold medal olympic gymnast, says she was inspired by millions people sharing harassment and abuse as part of "metoo" burning up social media in the wake of the harvey weinstein scandal. maroney coming forward to say she was abused by the for doctor for team usa. >> he immediately started massaging my neck. >> he grabbed me and started groping on my chest. >> reporter: the rising tide of "me too," 1.5 million tweets and counting exposing the insidious nature of sexual abuse. >> he expose himself. >> reporter: from what was once described as deafening silence to growing chorus, add one more. >> michaela maroney. >> reporter: one of gymnastic's golden girls, michaela maroney,

tumbling into america's hearts as part of the fierce five, bringing home team gold. the 16-year-old's facial expression on the podium as she won silver for the vault, becoming a viral meme from london all the way to the white house. but today her famous face becoming an even more famous voice. speaking out online about something she's never publicly discussed before. saying she was repeatedly sexually abused by former u.s. gymnastics team doctor larry nassar. in this twitter post "i had a dream to go to the olympics and the things i had to endure to get there were unnecessary and disgusting." maroney says it started at a texas training camp when she was 13. lasting for seven years. until she retired from the sport. according to maroney, dr. nassar said she was receiving medically necessarily treatment. she writes, it seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, i was "treated." it happened in london before my team and i won the gold medal, it happened before i won my

silver." she describes what she calls the scariest night of her life at the 2011 world championships when she was 15. "i had flown all day and night with the team to get to tokyo. he'd given me a sleeping pill for the flight and the next thing i know, i was all alone with him in his hotel room getting a "treatment." i thought i was going to die that night." >> a lot of people think, if you don't have any forensic evidence, you can't prove a case. that's not necessarily true. but the biggest hurdle in bringing these cases is women coming forward. >> reporter: maroney isn't alone. women like fellow gymnast jamie dancher went public with her allegations against dr. nassar. >> he said there's a procedure or a way to get my hips back in alignment when he would put his fingers into me vaginally. i was so miserable because i felt i got in trouble every day for something else. i had no idea back then that he was doing something wrong. >> reporter: so did usa gymnast jessica howard.

>> i was so trusting. it didn't even go through my head this man could be hurting me. >> you think of gymnastics, you think of the happiness, joy, medals won, the naig cheering for these young athletes. then to hear the sordid, awful, disgusting, appalling story? it's just beyond troubling. it is one of the worst things we have seen in the u.s. olympic history. >> reporter: more than 140 women and girls, nearly all gymnasts, whose attorneys say that nassar assaulted them under the guys of medical treatment. some, like dantzcher, suingdantc coaches bela karolyi saying they created an environment that gave nassar the opportunity to abuse young gymnasts. >> they created an atmosphere with intimidation, fear, control. we weren't really allowed to talk, they controlled what we ate, controlled when we spoke. >> reporter: early area spokesman for the karolys say "they vehemently deny the

allegations against them." the karolys did not have any knowledge from any complaint from anyone concerning any athletes' alleged am us m mistreatment by dr. nassar until they learned of his dismissal during the summer of 2016. california attorney john manley represents many accusers. >> what nassar did is came in with a sunny personality, i'm a nice man, you can trust me, gave the kids candy, listened to their problems. and they liked him. and they trusted him. and he used that trust to disguise sexual assault as medical treatment? reserve. >> he was very nice, he was on the gymnasts' side. he cared about what you were going through. you know, so he was kind of a break from all of the -- the endless, you know -- negativity that you dealt with on a daily basis. he was a friend. >> this shines incredible light on the vulnerability of these young athletes. >> we're on the elite national team. we're training at the world and

the olympic level. your parents don't go with you. they trusted usa gymnastics to make sure that they were protecting us. dr. nassar was in my room late at night giving me "treatment." in my own bed. >> reporter: with the prestigious clinic at michigan state university and after nearly 20 years with usa gymnastics: nassar is now serving time in prison after pleading guilty to three federal child pornography charges this past july. >> dr. nassar will spend the rest of his life in prison. >> reporter: nassar is being sentenced in december. and faces up to 60 years in prison for those crimes alone. but he still faces 33 charges of criminal sexual conduct in michigan. his attorneys did not respond to abc's request for comment on the new allegations by maroney. today the organization vowing to improve policies toward sexual abuse in a statement saying usa gymnastics admires of courage like those of michaela maroney

who have come forward to share their personal experiences with sexual abuse. we like so many others are outraged and disgusted by the conduct of which larry nassar is accused. >> i think we're going to see a cultural change. we first started talking about sexual harassment with anita hill. then i think the next real shift came when gretchen carlson came forward about roger ailes. then you see bill o'reilly. you see eric bolling, bill cosby, harvey weinstein, now you're seeing the usa gymnastics team, also many, many gymnasts coming forward. >> reporter: and the "me too" movement seems to show no signs slowinging down. "people should know this is not just happening in hollywood, this is happening everywhere, wherever there's a position of power there seems to be potential for abuse." abuse that sunny hostin says america may no longer be willing to tolerate. >> if you are a sexual offender, you need to beware.

the authorities are coming for you. the women are coming for you. society is not going to stand for it anymore. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm juju chang in new york. next here, after a string of monster storms, we are in what may be the least talked about and hardest-hit caribbean island. a view from above and on the ground in dominica. ulcerative colitis, the unpredictability of a flare may weigh on your mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. that's how i thought it had to be. but then i talked to my doctor about humira, and learned humira can help get and keep uc under control... when certain medications haven't worked well enough. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions,

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at ikea, we believe that your dream bedroom, from a bedframe with storage, to the softest linens, to a cozy mattress, can be yours for less. and we believe... that cozy should never be costly. it is a cruel reality of climate change that some of the k countries least responsible for fueling it will suffer the worst of its consequences.

for dock neminica, that may be happening. the country faced two massive hurricanes in two weeks. the country's prime minister is pleadings with the world to take action before it's too late. abc's ian panel is there. ♪ ♪ ♪ what a friend we have in jesus ♪ >> everything is in shambles, yeah? >> this used to be what we called our living room. my son's bedroom. we tried to salvage some of his school books. ♪ everything to god in prayer >> this is the remains of it.

it's been there for 20 years. everything here is all gone. it's all gone. >> reporter: they say the small island of dominica was the most stunning in all of the caribbean. but on this night, one month ago, this world was turned upside down. without warning, hurricane winds suddenly accelerated from category 3 to 5. >> there was lightning, heavy rain, the hurricane was in the house. >> it was just whistling, whistling. >> reporter: this mostly christian nation now at the mercy of a storm that shared a name with the mother of christ. hurricane maria. >> in a matter of hours, we lost everything that money can buy. >> reporter: six days later, the only way to reach the interior is with the u.s. military.

it's the most overused phrase to say something looks like a war zone. i have to say, i've seen many, and that island has been completely devastated. many nations suffered this hurricane season. but the one with the highest death toll per capita is domini dominica. there's a forest that hasn't been flattened and the people have literally been left with nothing. they're really at the mercy of the elements. this island of 74,000 people is on the front line of climate change. one ferocious storm following another. now its very survival may be at risk. when we arrived, the winds have eased, the sun reappeared. but such is the force and scale of what's happened here that those who can get out do. >> tomorrow you're going to be flying. >> reporter: the students at the university medical school and american college based here are lucky. they can leave. >> i think we're just all glad to finally get off the island, you know? >> let get out of here!

>> any sense of a little bit of sadness? >> i do feel sadness for the people of dominica. it's hard to see a place you love go through that kind of a storm. >> bye, guys! >> reporter: for some islanders too, the prospect of escape. but sometimes with the agony of having to say good-bye to each other. is it planned you're going to stay behind? >> i'm going to stay. they are going, i'm going to stay and rebuild the country. start doing whatever i have to do to make dominica good again. >> you think it's not safe for your wife and baby to stay? >> right now i don't think it is pretty safe for him. >> reporter: no one on this island has access to running, drinkable water. with sewage systems destroyed, fears for diseases like diarrhea and dysentery are widespread. must be hard in your hearts, though, to let him go, right? he's beautiful. >> it is hard to let him go. but as a father, you just have to do what you have to do.

>> reporter: a father sacrificing prayers for a swift reunion. when that will happen is unknown. but the vast majority here don't have an escape route. there is no plan b. just a few miles from ross university, but a world apart. the smell of smoke is thick in the air. some from buildings on fire, some from people making fire because that's their only source of any power to try and cook anything. most of the island is still without wer, without any means of communication to the rest of the world. here we meet robert benjamin i. he's had no way to send word to his son in london. >> i've got to hit zero, haven't i? >> reporter: we let him use our satellite phone. >> adam? son, it's dad. >> reporter: robert tells him they're alive but the situation

is bad. >> hey, son. granny's house is all right. the village is really bad, yeah. it's really bad. there's half the village is gone. adam? hello? he's gone. well, at least he's heard my voice. thank god for that. adam? >> suddenly feels a long way from home, right? >> yeah. yeah. but -- i mean, we'll get back on our feet, i'm sure we will. you know? >> reporter: at age 83, robert's mom has seen many a storm before. >> this is one of the worst we ever see. >> reporter: she's sensitive to the consensus climate change is making storms more ferocious. she's beseeching god to spare her family. >> i pray, asking god to protect me, protect my son, and protect the house. >> reporter: what happened here was little short of a miracle. the family spared.

the roof stayed on. but the floodwaters, the mud and debris, still came. >> i put some boards here, on this plank, that's all mud. there you go. yeah. but we have our life. and we can at least house people down here once it's cleared. you know? like i said, there's a lot of homeless. >> reporter: despite a few rooms habitable, robert and his mom have opened their home to three other families. >> if it wasn't for mrs. benjamin and his son, we would not have known what would have happened to us. >> reporter: 50,000 people now displaced. more than 85% of houses here have been damaged. of those, more than one-quarter don't exist anymore. all of the island's agriculture was wiped out. tourism, a driving force in its economy, will be scarce. dominica's future now in question. not even the country's leader was spared.

we're just coming in to see the prime minister of dominica. his roof was taken out, his house was flooded, so he knows exactly what it is the people have to face. >> i still see the shock, the trauma in the eyes and the expressions of people. their entire life savings been blown away. >> reporter: five days after the storm, roosevelt scaritt appealed to the united nations. >> as dominicans bear the brunt of climate change, we're shouldering the consequences of the actions of others. actions that endanger our very existence. and all for the enrichment of a few elsewhere. >> you used this phrase that dominica was on the front line in the war against global warming. >> that's a fact. i mean, we live in it. >> reporter: the ceaseless clatter of the hammer is now the soundtrack for a small, isolated nation brought to its knees. >> i say, how are we going to build up again? that's what we don't know.

we're trying to keep our spirits high. because if we breakdown, we break down. >> reporter: some will try to cope with climate change. some will try to adapt. ♪ what a privilege to carry >> reporter: if the world fails to act, it could mean one more paradise lost. for "nightline," i'm ian panel on dominica. ♪ ♪ >> our thanks to ian for his extraordinary. thing tonight. we'll be right back. every morning, i thought i had to make a choice. do i use a toothpaste that whitens my teeth or one... ...that's good for my teeth? now i don't have to choose! my dentist told me about new crest whitening therapy. so, i tried it! from crest 3d white comes new whitening therapy.

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finally here tonight, you may have noticed there's been a lot of controversy of late about president trump's phone calls to families of four soldiers who were killed during an ambush in africa nearly two weeks ago. but as we say good night here, we'd like to put politics aside for a moment and simply salute these four men who died serving their country.

and to all the men and women who risk their lives every day to keep us safe, we say thank you. our thanks to you as well for watching "nightline." good night.