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For most of Grand Cayman’s near 80,000 residents, it was business as usual this morning, 27 Sept., even though fewer than 24 hours prior the jurisdiction was under hurricane warning while Hurricane Ian brushed the southwestern coastline.
Unlike previous storms, which left in their wakes downed power lines, toppled trees and receding floods, Ian’s aftermath was relatively manageable.
“There is about two to three inches of sand, rocks and other debris scattered along the road which makes for hazardous conditions,” said Bal Walter, a supervisor at the National Roads Authority.
Walter and his team of five men, are one of several groups which were deployed by the NRA to assist with ongoing clean-up efforts in the worst-hit areas of George Town.
Using shovels, the men scraped and gathered the sand into small piles that were then placed into a mini front-end loader, which then emptied the accumulated debris into a dump truck.
“We need to get it to a point where it will be manageable for the street sweeper to be able to come out tonight and finish sweeping up the road,” Walter explained. “We are almost done, I’d say we are about 70% of the way.”
Also at work clearing a section of seaside road some five miles to the east, was a much-larger crew of NRA and Public Works staff, together with the assistance of the British Royal Navy from the HMS Medway, which had travelled to Cayman waters in case needed in relief efforts post-Ian.
“Well, the military asked if they could cut down some of the trees that fell and we are just focusing on clearing the road,” said Sean Haye, who is also a NRA supervisor.
But with choppy seas forecast for the next several days, the men are conscious that he roads may be further blocked in the coming days.
“At this stage, we don’t know what will happen in the coming days but if the roads do get messed up again, we’ll just have to come back out and clean them up again,” Haye said.
The combined manpower is a part of a concentrated effort to return Cayman to full pre-storm operations, as quickly and safely as possible. Other extended efforts include an ongoing risk and damage assessment by Hazard Management Cayman Islands.
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