Hurricane Ivan - A Two-week Anniversary Retrospective
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from October 2004.
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Hurricane force winds set in from approximately 2 a.m. Sunday morning, with the worst conditions, the 155 mph sustained winds and gusts of over 200 miles an hour, being felt between 6 and 11 a.m. As torrential rainfall lashed the island, roofs were torn from buildings, utility poles snapped and trees were uprooted. Even more horrific, driven by Ivan's monstrous winds, the sea rose eight feet above normal levels and surged inland, flooding all that stood in its path. For more than 24 hours, there was no respite from the pounding winds, rain and seas. When the last tropical storm force winds died down on Monday morning, shellshocked residents began emerging to see the full impact of the devastation. Statistics would corroborate initial observations as the week wore on: preliminary damage assessment from the National Hurricane Committee (NHC) indicated that 95% of buildings on Grand Cayman sustained damaged 10-15% beyond repair. In Breakers and East End, the areas hardest hit, 80% and 50% of homes, respectively, were lost and Bodden Town's coastal strip accounted for another 40% of destroyed homes. Several sections of road along the east and south coasts were ripped up.
Across the island, thousands of people were displaced and dazed, lacking housing, food, water and utilities. Commercial activity was non-existent and vehicles, trailer containers, power lines, buildings and vegetation, swirled together in tangled masses.
Two weeks on, however, Grand Cayman has made real strides towards recovery: just one day after the hurricane, airport services were restarted, and some roads made passable. Basic food, water and other relief supplies were distributed and for several days, supermarkets and other businesses donated necessities to the public. Several gas stations have now reopened for regular business, along with supermarkets and supply stores. Repairs have already begun.
First external response came from the British Royal Navy ships, the Richmond and Waveruler, whose officers provided supplies and humanitarian assistance in the critical first four days. Overseas, families and friends also loaded planes with relief supplies, supplementing provisions sent by the Red Cross and other international agencies. Representatives from Jamaica, Barbados, Honduras and other parts of Central and South America, the USA, Canada, UK, and South Africa, arranged evacuation flights and assistance for their nationals. Many private companies did the same for their employees and large numbers of expatriates and Caymanians alike took advantage of those flights, put on by Cayman Airways, Air Jamaica, and North American and other commercial and chartered carriers. The British Government also sent two representatives to assess local needs, which resulted in the shipment of additional relief supplies, and also from the UK, came help with security issues and funding for the deployment to Cayman of 21 police officers from the Turks and Caicos, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda.
The Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, themselves only minimally damaged by the hurricane, were back to normalcy within a few days and also sent in supplies. They have also served as a haven for significant numbers of Grand Cayman residents.
Hotels that could, opened their doors to local and incoming relief workers. East End's Morritts Tortuga also arranged a daily supply of 75,000 gallons of fresh water and shower and toilet facilities for that hard-hit district.
Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) restored electricity to emergency facilities Continued on page 15 Continued from page 14
such as the airport, NHC headquarters, and the government hospital within four days, despite damage to some 20% of its transmission and distribution system. Service was restored to most of the central George Town business district by the end of the first week (Friday, 17th) and piped water was restored to that area by the following Monday (September 20th) to allow businesses to resume operations that day. Businesses returning to work included all insurance companies and agents, while local clearing banks had already reopened with reduced hours the previous day. They confirmed that their records and data were unaffected and that the banking system remains sound.
Operational government services at the end of the first week included Immigration, Customs, the Companies Registry, Summary Court and the Health Services Authority's general practice clinics and district health centres. Accident and Emergency and inpatient facilities had remained operational throughout. One week after Ivan's passage, the CI Monetary Authority and the Grand Court had reopened and garbage collection services had resumed in many parts of the island.
In the business/financial district, resumption of activity was helped by the fact that 60% of business premises were undamaged and mobile telephone, email and Internet services were restored in days (Cable and Wireless did not lose its cellular service). Already, workers who had left the island in the first few days have begun to return and traffic jams have returned to the centre of George Town.
At the end of week two, priority for housing repair assistance is going to the approximately 800 persons who remain in shelters. Government's national recovery fund, launched with a $1 million donation from the Bank of Butterfield, will be used to provide housing and care for those most severely affected by the hurricane and to assist in the "social, educational, economic, religious and environmental recovery of the Islands." Retirement home residents and those whose homes are uninhabitable were being relocated to one of the local hotels.
Restoration of electricity and piped water continues. Assisted by crews from affiliated companies in Canada, Belize and the USA, CUC is rebuilding power lines out of George Town along the West Bay Road and from the North Sound Road power plant to the South Sound sub-station in preparation to expand service eastward. At the same time, it is preparing its undersea cable and sub-stations in West Bay and Rum Point to start the restoration process for those areas. The Water Authority has restored water eastward to Northward and plans to restart the supply to feeder roads off the main road after testing that pipes are intact. Cayman Water Company is supplying piped water to the West Bay district morning and evening.
Other than ten cases of gastroenteritis treated at the government hospital, there have been no outbreaks of illness. Tetanus vaccinations are being encouraged and are free at health centres, hospitals and at some private doctors.
On Friday the 24th the Governor assented to an amendment of the Police Law that allows the police to impose curfews. This paved the way for one of the most significant signs of recovery, the lifting of the State of Emergency. On Monday, September 27, the Governor rescinded the Emergency Powers he invoked on 11 September as the hurricane careened towards the island.
