Battered but not beaten, Cayman survives brush with Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl, a rare and powerful early-season storm, skirted the Cayman Islands on Thursday, bringing heavy rain and storm surge that caused pockets of serious damage but left the bulk of the territory largely unscathed.

The overwhelming emotion, as the storm passed and the ‘all-clear’ was issued just after 1pm Thursday, was deep relief.

A potentially devastating Category 3 hurricane had slipped south of the islands, sparing Cayman the kind of battering endured by its neighbours in the eastern Caribbean.

Hurricane Beryl had already claimed at least 10 lives as it churned through the region before passing less than 50 miles southwest of Grand Cayman.

Windsor Village complex, on Cayman’s south shore, took the brunt of the impact. 

Waves breached the low seawall in front of the property on South Church Street, ripping through storm shutters and shattering windows as water inundated oceanfront condos. Furniture had been flung across ground floor living rooms, which were strewn with sand and debris. 

Mid-morning on Thursday, waterfront residents, the majority of whom had found shelter elsewhere through the storm, were assessing the damage or gathering up their belongings to relocate.

But the impact on those homes closest to the ocean appears to have been an anomaly. Even within the same complex, many homeowners chose to stay and suffered no serious impacts.

Nearby, South Sound Road was inundated with waves Thursday, leaving the street damaged and filled with debris.

Police on Thursday afternoon said they had observed during their patrols that South Sound Road, from the intersection at Old Crewe Road, appeared to be unsafe and impassable by motorists, and would be blocked until further notice “due to the significant damage to the roadway and excessive debris”.

But elsewhere across Cayman, there were few reports of serious damage and no fatalities or injuries, and many people went through the storm without losing power.

Around 3,000 households, mostly in the eastern districts, lost electricity during the hurricane. The majority had their power restored by late afternoon on Thursday.

Water Authority – Cayman had shut off water supplies to its customers on Wednesday night, but those supplies were also restored by late Thursday morning.

A near miss from a killer storm

Given the well-founded fears that preceded Beryl’s arrival, Acting Deputy Governor Eric Bush said Cayman dodged a bullet.

“This could have been a devastating hurricane. This is a killer storm and we were absolutely spared from the worst impacts by the grace of God,” he said.

The hurricane’s closest point to Grand Cayman was around 6am, at which point it was packing winds of 120 miles per hour at its core.

One degree further north and it could have been a direct hit.

Bush, who also leads the National Hazard Management Committee, said he was happy and honoured at the way every sector of the community had responded to a real and deadly threat.

Hundreds go to government shelters

Around 700 people took refuge in government shelters and hundreds more left homes in low-lying areas to stay with friends or book into hotels to ride out the storm.

Bush praised the “bravery and judgment” of those who had chosen to leave their homes. He said emergency services and Cayman Islands Regiment crews had reported no serious incidents and that was thanks to the wise decision-making of those in vulnerable areas.

Tourists evacuate before Hurricane Beryl

Ahead of Hurricane Beryl, about 1,000 people evacuated the island, including visitors who cut short their holidays in Cayman and local residents who opted to fly out. Cayman Airways and various international airlines ran evacuation flights until the airports closed at 6pm Wednesday.

Albert Anderson, chief executive officer of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority, confirmed to the Compass that the airports had reopened Thursday afternoon. However, the only flights operating were returning Cayman Airways aircraft.

A Cayman Airways spokesperson said the airline’s fleet and crew were in the process Thursday of returning home from safe shelter overseas.

She noted that a special flight has been added from Miami for Friday to make it easier for Cayman residents to return home if they evacuated, and that regular scheduled flights would resume as normal tomorrow. All domestic flights were cancelled Thursday but will resume Friday “with some schedule adjustments”, she said.

Born in a storm

While emergency services had a quiet night, staff at Doctors Hospital were called on to deliver a baby at the height of Hurricane Beryl.

As hurricane-force winds ramped up in Grand Cayman in the early hours of Thursday, Vinayah Olivia Beason was delivered by emergency Caesarean section.

Proud parents Charlika Bennett-Beason and Vincent Beason said they were relieved and happy to welcome a healthy baby girl.

The island was beginning to return to normalcy Thursday as the storm moved towards the Yucatan Peninsula.

Some stores and restaurants were starting to open by early evening and a line of cars had formed outside the KFC drive-through in Bay Town Plaza.

Premier thanks God

Announcing the ‘all clear’ on government television at 1pm, Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly praised the teams, including civil service and public officers, that helped the islands navigate the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

“I am absolutely delighted He has delivered us yet another time. He did it before and He did it again,” O’Connor-Connolly said, as she thanked God.

The relatively compact nature of the storm and the speed at which it travelled may also have lessened its impact.

Active storm season ahead

Hurricane Beryl broke records as the earliest storm of this strength ever recorded in the Atlantic.

Its worst impacts were felt in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and, to a lesser extent, in Jamaica.

Bush said Cayman’s brush with Beryl had served as a reminder of the need for constant readiness and urged everyone not to become complacent.

“This is very much the start of hurricane season,” he said.

“We would love this to be the only storm for the year and for many years to come but all predictions are that this is going to be a very active season. If we are threatened with these type of events, I would encourage the community to do as they have done this time and prepare the same way,” he said.

Danielle Coleman, director of Hazard Management Cayman Islands, said the territory had escaped what could have been an extremely serious, life-threatening scenario.

“We have been incredibly fortunate. This could have gone a number of different ways and in the circumstances I don’t think we could have hoped for a better outcome.”

She said the islands’ infrastructure and building codes are “incredibly robust” and the readiness and awareness of the people was equally valuable in ensuring a safe passage through the storm.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, a marine warning remains in effect, as rough seas are expected overnight. The National Weather Service said wave heights of 5 to 9 feet are anticipated off the coast of Grand Cayman and 5 to 7 feet off the Sister Islands.