Residents trickle into hurricane shelters

For the latest information on Hurricane Beryl, visit Storm Centre. 

Hours before a shelter in place advisory was scheduled to go into effect for the Cayman Islands with the pending passing of Hurricane Beryl, there was an unusual mix of hurried preparation and relaxed waiting in anticipation of the unknown.

Residents in West Bay sat and looked out over the increasingly agitated waters, while at the same time members of the Cayman Islands Regiment rushed to unpack water, food and beds at the Clifton Hunter High School hurricane shelter.

Though the storm isn’t anticipated to reach the Cayman Islands until the night, organisers are urging residents to decide early if they plan to remain at home or seek refuge at one of about 20 shelters across Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. They opened their doors earlier this morning, receiving people and their pets, as well as animals from the Cayman Islands Humane Society.

Early arrivals

A dozen residents gathered at the John Gray High School Gymnasium Wednesday afternoon to get registered for the shelter to ride out Hurricane Beryl, which is expected to impact the island tonight with heavy rains and forceful winds.

The gymnasium is one of two pet-friendly shelters on the islands. Noah’s Ark in Cayman Brac, situated on the Bluff at the agriculture grounds, is also designated as a pet-friendly facility on a first come, first serve basis.

‘Take care of your animals’

During the Hurricane Beryl press briefing this afternoon, Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said, “safety is our top priority”. 

With many competing factors, the premier said, all of the emergency-response protocols have now been activated, and disaster-preparedness teams are coordinating efforts around the clock.

“Shelters are prepared and some are pet friendly,” O’Connor-Connolly said, warning residents, “Do not leave them out in the yards to fend for themselves. Do not leave them tied up. Take care of your animals. Even if you don’t want to take them to the shelter, that’s entirely up to you, make sure they are well taken care of.”

One pet owner told the Compass he is pleased to see that Cayman is making shelters pet friendly and happy that his pets will be safe during the storm.

The pets have a dedicated space, separate from the people staying at the shelter, which will have cots and pillows.

“Some people are coming to enquire about what to bring. The shelter is quite responsive, and we expect later this afternoon to be quite busy,” Musa Machembe, shelter manager at John Gray High School, told the Cayman Compass.

Residents need to bring non-perishable food and water, blankets, hygiene products, medication and first aid supplies, clothing, personal identification and important documents. Items should not take up too much space and stoves are not permitted.

‘Everybody has to register’

As of publication, 100 people had registered at the JGHS location, which can accommodate about 1,500. More people were expected to arrive ahead of the ‘stay in place’ notice called for 6pm today.

“Before they come into the main shelter area, they need to be registered so that at least we know who is here and we can be accountable for all those people that we’d have to oversee,” Machembe said.

“We’ve checked all the doors; we can stand very strong winds and to keep the rains as well. We have massive generators. And generally, the space is quite comfortable. We have A/C running, the lights, we can adjust them for people that want to sleep, give them a comfortable environment to sleep in.”

So far, 12 volunteers had arrived with a few more expected to come in later.

He said, “Act very quickly because from the information being passed, it is going to be difficult to be rescued once the storm has reached us. So, if they are having doubts where they are, it is better for people to come to the shelter.”

He encouraged residents to “come to the shelter on time, because you don’t lose anything. If it by the grace of God, it goes another way, and we are spared, that’s fine, we’ll be in a safe space. For people to go out in the middle of the storm, it would not be possible. Come, bring whatever you need to bring, make sure your family is safe.”

Elaine Thomas, assistant shelter manager who has been volunteering with the Cayman Islands Red Cross, told the Compass, “We’re more ready now than ever.”

Thomas said, “We will not be turning people back, but if it’s going to endanger our life and the rest of shelterees, we will have to close the door. The Regiment is out there and thank God for them, because they will be bringing people once they’re out there, we cannot close the door.”

East End refuge

The shelter at Clifton Hunter has the largest capacity of all the East End shelters, able to accommodate about 630 people.

At 3pm, a dozen regiment members from the B squad set to preparing the site to welcome as many people as needed.

Lt. Tyler Lawson said the shelter should be prepared to house people for at least a week if needed.

“We’re here mainly for route clearance, search and rescue operations, and to evacuate civilians in the area if needed,” he said.

Even if the Cayman Islands doesn’t see much of the hurricane-force winds, the islands may still experience significant sea surge and flooding, he noted.

For those who were still deciding whether to stay at home or utilise the shelters, Lawson advised, “If you don’t feel like you’re safe or you don’t feel like you’re prepared to stay in your home, the best thing to do is to try and get over to a shelter.”

He also reminded residents to look out for their neighbours, family members, and themselves.

Medical staff on hand

Organisers were also preparing at centrally located schools turned shelters.

Delia Hydes, one of the main shelter managers at Theoline L. McCoy Primary School, said Health Service Authority staff will be stationed at the school

Though it is one of the smaller shelters, able to accommodate about 80 people, she noted that it has food and other necessities that can last for several days.

She said residents should bring their essentials but avoid taking overly large suitcases to the shelter to be mindful of the space available.

Unlike with storms where the hurricane eye passes directly overhead, Beryl may not provide a break in the weather for people to move locations, so she urged people to make a decision on where to stay as soon as possible.

Red Cross worker Rosalie Johnson said medical staff are also prepared to offer support at the Savannah Primary School shelter.

She said one of the main decisions Savannah residents should consider with this storm is whether their low-lying residence may be susceptible to flooding.

Hurricane Beryl is expected to bring rainfall totals of 4 to 6 inches Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Johnson said an oft-forgotten important item is some sort of bed, especially if the storm were to take a turn for the worse.

She said the 135-unit shelter was not overly concerned about capacity issues, but she advised community members to make a move quickly.

“The earlier you get in, the better,” she added.

Additional reporting by Dana Kampa.