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Damage assessments by emergency responders started early on Wednesday morning in the Sister Islands, following a direct hit on Little Cayman by Hurricane Rafael Tuesday night.
While initial assessments have found damaged boats, downed trees and power lines, as well as other debris on the roads, no casualties have been reported, according to officials. Damage assessments were continuing.
The ‘all clear’ has been issued for Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, but a shelter-in-place notice remained in effect for Little Cayman as of 8:30am.
Torrential downpours and rough seas fuelled by the storm battered both Sister Islands, as the hurricane made landfall over Little Cayman around 9pm Tuesday.
By 6am Wednesday, Rafael had strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane.
National Weather Service chief meteorologist Kerry Powery said in a 6am update that spiral bands associated with the hurricane were still affecting the Cayman Islands, particularly the Sister Islands, “and that is expected to continue throughout the day as the system continues to move towards Cuba and make landfall later today”.
No reports of casualties
Danielle Coleman, director of Hazard Management Cayman Islands, said in a 7am update that downed power lines and debris on the roads had been reported in Little Cayman, but “nothing critical” had been seen in initial damage assessments.
She said there had been no reports of casualties.
As the airports remain closed, there are discussions about flying multi-agency staff to the Sister Islands by police helicopter, Coleman said in her update.
Residents on Little Cayman who had ventured outside described some roads as impassable by cars because of downed trees, with the only way to get around being by bicycle or on foot.
Two Reef Divers boat were partially submerged in the high sea surge experienced overnight, and a Southern Cross Club boat broke free of its moorings during the storm and ended up on a nearby beach.
The storm caused power outages across the Sister Islands, and Little Cayman remained without electricity Wednesday morning.
Jonathan Tibbetts of Island Energy said crews had started work on Little Cayman but it may be later tonight before power is restored.
Power is back across most of Cayman Brac, and will be restored across all areas by midday, he said.
Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, in a statement issued Wednesday morning, said, “While damage has been reported, we are thankful there has been no loss of life.”
Government offices will reopen on Grand Cayman at 8:30am, but government schools and the University College of the Cayman Islands will remain closed, according to an early-morning advisory.
A marine warning is in place for all three islands because of 6-8 foot seas. “Any in-water activity is ill advised at this time,” Powery said.
“While conditions have improved on Grand Cayman, residents are advised to exercise extreme caution on the roads and near coastlines as rough seas and residual flooding risks may persist. It is anticipated that there will be sporadic showers throughout the morning,” an earlier government update read.
Earlier reports on the storm
Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who is currently on Cayman Brac, had earlier urged residents on all islands to remain indoors.
“Shelter in place and don’t venture out. As soon as it is safe, our assessment teams will be out assessing/reporting and government will be responding accordingly,” she told the Compass in a brief message Tuesday night.
Speaking shortly after 10pm, RCIPS Chief Inspector Wade Chase advised that Hurricane Rafael had “reached the stage where it has passed Grand Cayman and our Sister Islands”.
He said RCIPS continued to communicate with the emergency response teams in Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, and that they had personnel on the ground there. Police were logging all information coming in, he said, to organise the response once the ‘all clear’ is given.
No plans were currently in place to implement a curfew, Chase said, but people were being asked to stay in place until the ‘all clear’ is confirmed to avoid danger to themselves and emergency responders.
District Commissioner for the Sister Islands Mark Tibbetts addressed the public shortly after 9pm, telling residents of the Sister Islands to continue to practise extreme caution and respect shelter-in-place orders.
Rafael made landfall on Little Cayman shortly after 9pm.
At that time, the Sister Islands experienced the strongest winds of the system, as it moved away from Little Cayman over the following hour. Heavy showers and gusty winds continued through the night.
Powery advised that damage assessments could take longer to complete in the Sister Islands, due to the direct impact there. Flooded roads could pose risks to vehicles and passengers.
“The Sister Islands, obviously they have been experiencing hurricane-force winds, so the damages over there are likely to be more severe and perhaps the assessment will take longer to take place,” he said.
“An observation site on Cayman Brac recently reported a wind gust of 80 mph,” a Tuesday night update reported.
Powery said on Tuesday night that driving conditions could be dangerous in Grand Cayman, where spiral bands of rain from the storm had brought heavy rains.
As of 4am, the US National Hurricane Center said Rafael was 195 miles south-southeast of Cuba, moving northwest at 14 mph.
The NHC stated, “On the forecast track, Rafael is expected to move over western Cuba later today, and move into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico tonight.”
Reports from an Air Force Hurricane Hunter indicated that the maximum sustained winds had neared 90 mph.
Sister Islands takes a ‘beating’
Peter Quilliam, president of the Sister Islands Tourism Association, who lives in Little Cayman, said this was the “biggest storm” he has been in so far.
In a message received at 8:25pm Tuesday night, he said the island was catching the northeast edge of the storm at that point.
“We are all safe as far as I know so far,” he said.
Another resident told the Compass she was scared in her home, where she said her windows were boarded up but her walls were shaking.
“I’m in the corner of my kitchen,” she said, vowing never to stay at her home on her own during a storm again.
“This is the scariest situation I’ve ever experienced,” she said.
Sister Islands District Commissioner Mark Tibbetts, speaking with the Compass around 8:15pm, said the winds and rains have picked up and there are reports of downed trees on Cayman Brac.
“We’re hanging in here for sure, but definitely we are experiencing hurricane conditions now for certain, no doubt about that one. We’ve been having fairly severe weather from right around 5pm … But it’s definitely gotten worse,” he said.
There have been reports circulating about evacuations at Cayman Brac Beach Resort; however, he said he checked in with personnel there and that was not the case.
“What I can say is I’m quite certain the weather conditions there can’t be good,” he said.
The hotel’s management team confirmed this rumour was false. The water had only come up a few feet and no evacuations were taking place.
Tibbetts said he spoke to individuals on Little Cayman and they reported that, similar to Cayman Brac, “They are getting slammed.”
At the closest point of approach, Rafael is expected to make landfall over Little Cayman, pass 16 miles southwest of Cayman Brac and 86 miles northeast of Grand Cayman.
National Weather Service Director General John Tibbetts said in an interview with the Cayman Compass Tuesday night that the US National Hurricane Center and the World Meteorological Organization considers a ‘direct hit’ as within 50 miles. With the storm making landfall on Little Cayman and passing 16 miles southwest of Cayman Brac, there is no doubt the impacts will be severe.
Category 1 winds speeds on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale range from 74-95 mph.
Based on radar images, he said, the shape of the storm is starting to wrap and “is now looking like a textbook hurricane with a centre/eye trying to form, and that eye is pretty close to Little Cayman as we speak right now,” he said.
Power out across Sister Islands
With conditions intensifying on the Sister Islands, Island Energy commenced scheduled outages on both Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
“Island Energy have kept power on to both Cayman Brac and Little Cayman for as long as we can, and the recent infrastructure improvements have enabled us to keep lines energised for much longer than previously. Unfortunately the wind speed is causing too much damage to the infrastructure for the power to be safely kept on.
“As soon as it’s safe to do, crews will deploy to fix the transmission infrastructure and restore power. Updates will be provided on our social media channels,” Simon Watson, Island Energy vice president of operations, told the Compass.
Meanwhile, in an official government update, Coleman said the main focus right now is on the Sister Islands, where Hurricane Rafael is expected to have had the greatest impact. While the National Emergency Operations Centre has been partially activated, Coleman said officials are ready to scale the response if the situation dramatically changes.
Coleman said emergency officials are looking to begin a damage assessment early tomorrow to determine what supplies and personnel might be needed in the Sister Islands.
“Whatever that looks like, we’re planning for that tonight,” she said.
X-Ray One and the Mosquito Research and Control Unit fixed-wing aircraft will be deployed in the morning to assist with the assessment.
She said this has been a multi-agency effort, bringing together the public and private sector, adding that the executive, including the premier and governor, have been briefed over the past two days.
‘Storms can play all kind of tricks on you’
Speaking as the storm neared the Sister Islands on Tuesday night, Tibbetts said the latest forecast had indicated that the threat for Grand Cayman had lessened.
“We are not forecasting tropical storm force winds in Grand Cayman or tropical storm wind gusts in Grand Cayman at this particular point. There are some showers and thundershowers that we are expecting to come along with the system,” he said at the ime.
“We do have the danger still of some very rough seas out there and some heavy showers that will limit visibility and make driving out there a bit tricky for us on Grand Cayman,” he said.
Tibbetts urged the community in Grand Cayman to be careful and “don’t give up on this storm just yet”.
“We don’t give up until the storm has gone about its business. The winds and everything have weakened. I know that our forecast has been focusing quite a bit more on the Sister Islands than on Grand Cayman, but storms can play all kind of tricks on you,” Tibbetts added.
Coleman urged residents in the Sister Islands to remain indoors and those on Grand Cayman to shelter in place starting at 10pm.
While she said it is not a mandatory stay-at-home curfew, “we are really appealing to the public to stay off the roads. There’s so much activity that has to happen on the roads with the emergency services potentially [Tuesday] night. We may have to evacuate.”
She said shelters have been utilised on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, with 23 residents at West End Primary School and 31 at the Aston Rutty Centre. Three people have opted to shelter at the Public Works Department in Little Cayman.
A third shelter was also opened on Cayman Brac, she added.
Over on Grand Cayman, she said, 35 shelterees were at John Gray High School and 16 were at the Red Cross shelter on Huldah Avenue.
“We’ve seen a really healthy uptake and I’m really happy to see that, because sometimes with a storm like this, that’s so unpredictable, you don’t often get people coming into shelters. Whereas again, across the Sister Islands and Grand Cayman, we’re really happy with those figures. People are actually utilising the shelter and utilising it early before the storm actually arrives,” Coleman said.
Schools to remain closed
O’Connor-Connolly, who is currently on Cayman Brac, speaking with Radio Cayman Tuesday afternoon, said all schools will remain closed on Wednesday.
“Safety comes first,” she said, adding that safety checks will have to made Wednesday before schools can be opened.
She urged the community to remain indoors and not to venture out, as this may hamper personnel doing assessments.
The premier also emphasised that there could be downed lines in the aftermath of the storm, rendering the roadways unsafe.
She reminded the community of the situation in 2008 with Hurricane Paloma when it turned around while people were out on the road doing assessments.
“Thankfully, it did not make it back to us,” she said, adding that that scenario was a reminder that there is a need to ensure that everything is safe before the ‘all clear’ is given.
Cayman Airways fleet secured
Cayman Airways CEO and President Fabian Whorms has confirmed that the national flag carrier’s fleet had been secured ahead of Tropical Storm Rafael.
“One B737 jet is overseas, and three will be safely secured here in Grand Cayman ready for operations Wednesday morning, subject to weather conditions and applicable aerodrome operating statuses. Both Saabs will also be safely secured here in Grand Cayman and ready for operations Wednesday morning,” Whorms said.
The two Twin Otters are overseas, he said, while one will be safely secured here in Grand Cayman and ready for operations on Wednesday morning, subject to weather conditions and applicable aerodrome operating statuses.
The Cayman Islands Airports Authority has announced that Owen Roberts International Airport will reopen at 9am Wednesday, and Charles Kirkconnell International Airport will be operational again at noon.
West Bay police station relocates
West Bay Police Station relocated to the Sir John A Cumber Primary School from 5pm on Tuesday, from where it will operate until after the passing of Hurricane Rafael, an RCIPS statement said.
The phone number for the West Bay Police Station will remain the same (949-3999) and the station will operate as normal.
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