Topic: Hurricane
Nine Lives
Today's editorial cartoon
In Caribbean, insured damage from Irma in billions, but economic damage worse
The devastating destruction caused by Hurricane Irma in parts of the Caribbean is expected to result in billions of dollars of insured losses, but the economic damage is likely to be much worse, analysts say.
Rare three-storm formation leads to ‘hurricane déjà vu’
The existence of three hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico at the same time last week brought a bit of déjà vu for international storm observers.
Hurricane Irma: A devastating blow to Florida’s Gulf Coast
MIAMI – The fierce eye of Hurricane Irma roared ashore in Florida on Sunday morning, bringing the full intensity of the storm to bear on the lower Florida Keys before beginning what forecasters say could be a painful journey up the state’s western coastline.
‘Our duty to honor and reciprocate’: Cayman sends aid to beleaguered Caribbean
Although they escaped Irma’s devastation unscathed, long-time residents of the Cayman Islands well recall the aftermath of a catastrophic hurricane. “Many of us remember Hurricane Ivan [in 2004] and the help our sister territories provided to us during that difficult time.”
UPDATE: Tampa airport to close Monday for Irma; Cayman Airways adjusts flights
The Tampa International Airport in Florida will close Monday. Accordingly Cayman Airway's flights to and from Tampa on Monday have been cancelled.
‘Enormous catastrophe’: St. Martin reeling from hurricane damage
Most of the French part of eastern Caribbean Island St. Martin has been destroyed, the president of the territory’s assembly Daniel Gibbs said on Wednesday.
Cayman Airways cancels 20 Florida flights, offers ‘evacuation’ fares
Cayman Airways has announced cancelation of 20 flights on Friday, Saturday and Sunday related to the projected path of Hurricane Irma. To get people out of Florida before Hurricane Irma strikes, the airline is offering flights on Friday, Sept. 8, for $69 one way.
American facing fiream charges allowed to travel because of Irma
An American citizen charged with firearm offenses was bailed on Thursday so that he could travel to Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma’s anticipated impact there. He pleaded with the court to let him go back to Florida to safeguard his family, property and business.
Relief efforts begin for devastated British Virgin Islands
After Hurricane Irma flattened homes throughout the British Virgin Islands when it struck the territory on Wednesday, untold hundreds of residents have had to seek refuge in churches, schools and other public shelters.
Fun Run still on, other weekend events in Cayman postponed
One event scheduled for this weekend in Cayman will go on as scheduled, but a number of others have been canceled or postponed because of inclement weather related to Hurricane Irma.
Red Cross appeals for Hurricane Irma monetary donations
The Cayman Islands Red Cross has started a Hurricane Irma appeal to help those in the region affected by the storm. “We really don’t know the extent of the damage as full assessments haven’t been conducted yet, but based on what we have seen and heard, Irma has been catastrophic."
Hurricane Irma pummels islands, maintains Category 5 strength
Hurricane Irma made its first landfall Wednesday, battering Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy islands.
Cayman monitors Irma as it batters region
The inhabitants of Cayman have been watching the path of Hurricane Irma with dread and trepidation, but the latest advisories have given them relief. The Category 5 storm arced northwest over the last few days, putting Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands farther out of the menacing swirl of destruction.
Update: Hurricane Irma slams Caribbean islands as Category 5 storm
Hurricane Irma strengthened to historic proportions and continued its trajectory through the Lesser and Greater Antilles on Tuesday, upgraded to a Category 5 storm. As it churns toward the eastern Caribbean, multiple nations are bracing for impact over the next 24 hours.
UPDATED: Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 5, max winds of 180 mph
Several countries are preparing for a serious impact from Hurricane Irma. An advisory from the U.S. National Hurricane Center on Monday showed the hurricane heading toward the Leeward Islands and potentially striking Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
EDITORIAL – Hurricane watch: Keeping our eyes on ‘Ms. Irma’
At the Compass, we will continue to monitor closely the path of Irma and keep our readers updated both in our print editions and, for even more timely information, on our website (caymancompass.com).
Irma bears down on Leewards, likely to track northwest
A hurricane hunter plane from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association was scheduled to depart from the Bahamas late Sunday afternoon to explore Category 3 Hurricane Irma, which was making its way through the central Atlantic.
Hurricane Irma strengthens in Atlantic; now a major hurricane
The National Hurricane Center issued an advisory Thursday about Hurricane Irma, the ninth named storm of the season, which by Thursday afternoon had a maximum sustained wind speed of 100 mph.
Houston eventually will recover, but will it change?
Throughout American history, disasters have turned out to be catalysts in urban transformations.
Smooth landing for Navy response team
Military trucks rolled onto the white sands of Seven Mile Beach on Friday as police and Royal Navy helicopters hovered overhead in a show of strength from the British disaster response team currently operating in the Caribbean.
EDITORIAL – Gimme shelter: ‘Tis the season for preparedness
It’s that time of year again: The Atlantic hurricane season began Thursday, June 1, and will keep the Cayman Islands in suspense for the next six months, until the end of November.
Hurricane shelter volunteers sought
The Department of Children and Family Services is looking for volunteers to help out during hurricane season in Cayman.
50 years ago: Hurricane Hunter visits Cayman
Last month, storm trackers on board a U.S. Air Force WC-130J Hurricane Hunter flew into Owen Roberts International Airport on their public awareness tour ahead of the Caribbean’s hurricane season.
Hurricane exercise: ‘Practice is always good’
Call it the plan before the storm. Various agencies of the Cayman Islands government came together Wednesday to conduct the annual hurricane exercise, a drill to ensure that everybody is prepared for their role in confronting a major storm.
Hurricane Hunter plane to visit Cayman next week
A Hurricane Hunter aircraft and its crew are due to land in Grand Cayman next week as part of a regional tour in the run-up to the 2017 hurricane season.
Deadly hurricane season comes to an end
Dec. 1 marked the end of a deadly hurricane season in the Atlantic. The 2016 season had 15 named storms, with seven hurricanes and three major storms reaching Category 3 or higher. The biggest storm of the season, Matthew, was the first hurricane in the Atlantic to reach Category 5 since Felix in 2007.
The story of the 1932 Storm aftermath continued
The hurricane that hit the Cayman Islands in November 1932, known as the 1932 Cuba hurricane, or in the Cayman Islands as the 1932 Storm, was a Category 4 hurricane that hit Cayman Brac on the evening of Nov. 8 wreaking widespread destruction and death.
50 years ago: Remembering the great storm of ‘32
The hurricane that hit the Cayman Islands in November 1932, known as the 1932 Cuba hurricane, or in the Cayman Islands as the 1932 Storm, hit Cayman Brac on the evening of Nov. 8 wreaking widespread destruction and death.
Sir John A. Cumber students step up for Haiti
When the staff and students at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School learned of the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew, particularly to Haiti, they immediately sprang into action to do something, however small, to assist those who were affected.
‘Sharing Cayman kind’: Plane packed with 10 tons of goods arrives in Haiti
A Cayman Airways plane packed with 20,000 pounds of goods donated by the people of Cayman arrived Sunday in hurricane-ravaged Haiti.
Cayman’s linemen help get power back on in hurricane-hit Bahamas
Five linemen with Cayman’s Caribbean Utilities Company took off for the Bahamas on Wednesday to help get the country’s power lines back up after Hurricane Matthew passed over the islands, causing an estimated $400 million in damage. Homes were destroyed and power lines pulled down across many of the islands in the Bahamas.
Cayman Rotarians send hurricane relief supplies to Bahamas
Cayman Rotary Club members sent 20 pallets of hurricane relief supplies to their fellow Rotarians in the Bahamas on Friday. The supplies went to local agencies working on the cleanup and to Rotary clubs in the Bahamas to help with their relief efforts.
‘We might need another warehouse’: Donations pour in for Haiti relief
In 72 hours, more than 3,000 people in Cayman donated enough baby supplies, food, clothes, medicines and other necessities to fill the warehouse at Cayman Islands Brewery. On Tuesday, those supplies will be loaded on a Cayman Airways plane and flown to Haiti to help the country where at least 500 died in Hurricane Matthew.
UPDATED: Supplies from Cayman pour in for Haiti relief effort
Volunteers in Cayman spent Thursday unloading and sorting donations bound for Haiti and Cuba at the Saxon office on Eastern Avenue in George Town.
EDITORIAL – Hurricane Matthew: Embracing our role as host and haven
Along with the rest of humanity, we in Cayman will send our prayers, empathy and material assistance to the victims of Hurricane Matthew. Cayman has experienced the cataclysmic consequences of a major hurricane at much too near a distance, that is, firsthand.
Flights canceled, Obama issues state of emergency as Florida braces
Cayman Airways has suspended flights to Miami as Hurricane Matthew begins to bring heavy winds and rain to Florida. The Miami International Airport has suspended all service during the storm.
US military takes off from Cayman for Hurricane Matthew relief efforts
United States Marine Corps helicopters took off from Cayman’s Owen Roberts International Airport Wednesday, headed to Jamaica to be ready to move disaster relief supplies into Haiti. Four large U.S. military helicopters landed on Grand Cayman Tuesday, the first of two waves of Marines and U.S. Army personnel.
Jamaica, Haiti brace for ‘catastrophic’ flash floods
As Matthew, a massive category 4 storm, continued turning north Saturday evening, preparations are under way in Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba for what could be a devastating hurricane.
Matthew on track to bring damaging wind, rain to Jamaica and Haiti
UPDATE: Please go here for an update to this story.
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UPDATE 9 p.m. Saturday: Hurricane Matthew is stationary, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, about 385 miles...
Matthew now Category 5
Forecasters say Hurricane Matthew will turn to the north and any impact on the Cayman Islands will be minimal. The U.S. National Hurricane Center upgraded Matthew to a hurricane Thursday. Forecasters with Cayman’s National Weather Service say the islands will likely see rough seas of 4 to 6 feet and winds up to 20 mph from overnight Sunday through Monday, but do not expect any major impacts.
Tropical Storm Matthew could be named tonight, enter Caribbean this week
A tropical wave situated 1,100 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands Monday is gathering strength as it moves toward the Caribbean.
Earl wreaks havoc in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico
Weather that led to the Cayman Islands being placed under tropical storm watch last week brought huge downpours, strong winds and damage across Belize, Guatemala and Mexico.
50 years ago: Ships weather Hurricane Alma; rainy Queen’s birthday
“The three ships which gave everyone cause for deep and sincere concern when hurricane Alma menaced the Caribbean last week, are … safe in George Town harbor."
EDITORIAL – Hurricane season starts today: Be prepared
In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan pummeled Grand Cayman with 155-mile-per-hour winds, submerged more than half the island in seawater and, in total, caused billions of dollars in damage and destruction.
Cayman Islands gears up for National Day of Preparedness
Monday’s public holiday marks not just Discovery Day but Cayman’s National Day of Preparedness.
Volunteers needed for hurricane shelters
Training for hurricane shelter volunteers begins next month and community members are invited to sign up.
Officials attend hurricane conference
Hurricane season begins June 1, but Cayman Islands public officials are already preparing for it. Considering the first hurricane of 2016 was recorded two months ago, when a disturbance in the Atlantic turned into Hurricane Alex, early preparation for the season may be especially prudent this year, officials said.
