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Compass Centre, Shedden Road, George Town, Cayman Islands SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman, KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 • Email: newsdesk@compassmedia.ky ADVERTISE WITH US: T: (345) 949-5111 • E: sales@compassmedia.ky • W: caymancompass.com weather Friday Forecast FORECAST Scattered showers hroughout the evening SEA STATE Moderate with a wave height of 3 to 5 feet. WINDS Southeast at 10 to 15 knots 88°F HIGH 78°F LOW NEWS EDITOR CAROLINE JAMES ISSUES EDITOR JAMES WHITTAKER HEAD OF SALES CHERYL BIRCH-GILLIES JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Jagged shards of splintered glass hung from the frames of shattered French windows of oceanfront condos at Windsor Village, which bore the brunt of the damage from Hurricane Beryl. Storm surge battered down shutters and inundated homes closest to the waterfront at the complex on South Church Street. “This was all nature,” a bewildered woman marvelled as she stood in the sand-blasted spot where her sofa had been the night before. “The couch was just here, the television was on the wall there,” she added, gesturing to the rubble- strewn room. A pair of seascape paintings miraculously still hung in place amid the wreckage. The rest of the furniture had been flung across the living space and lay in a haphazard pile in the kitchen. Waves swamp ground floor “I knew this might not be a safe place so I stayed elsewhere,” said the woman, who asked not to be named, as she gathered the rest of her belongings to load in her vehicle. She said she would be finding somewhere else to stay in the short term, with the bulk of the home exposed to the elements. There were similar scenes at several of the waterfront condos. Waves had breached a low seawall and demolished plywood barriers or shutters covering windows. In one apartment, a stand up paddleboard lay amid debris. In another, a barbecue was heaped in a corner among assorted furniture. On only a handful of properties, the plywood boarding or hurricane shutters had stayed in place through the night. Behind one of those was Ekaterina Dementieva, who had stayed in the property throughout the storm with her husband. She told the Compass it had been a worrying night for her and her husband, and they tried to take their minds off the storm by watching films. But it wasn’t until the flood water cleared and she stepped outside and saw her neighbours’ properties, that she realised quite how close to disaster they had been. “When we walked around we understood how terrible it had been in the night.” Asked if they would stay at Windsor Village again during a hurricane, she replied, “No, no, definitely not.” She added that she feared the each successive storm would make a structure less secure. The couple, who have lived Cayman for a year, have just one more month left on their lease at the apartment. Ankle-deep water Around the complex, people walked in ankle-deep water around the overflowing swimming pool. Some helped waterfront residents assess the level of destruction or move damaged belongings. About eight properties in the complex appeared to have sustained serious damage to their ground floors. The bulk of the buildings remained intact, however, and the units farther back in the development seemed to be fine. One man, who stayed in his unit elsewhere in the complex overnight, said he had been surprised by the extent of the damage. “At 5am I could hear the waves bouncing off the shutters so I knew the water had come over and was flooding inside the complex. “I didn’t expect those oceanfront condos to be so badly hit. It was all boarded up last night. The water broke through the shutters and the boarding.” He said he had lived in the complex for several years and been through numerous storms without suffering anything like this kind of impact. Storm surge batters oceanfront complex Shutters were splintered in the storm at Windsor Village. French doors at an apartment in Windsor Village on South Church Street after being blown apart during the passage of Hurricane Beryl on Thursday morning. - Photos: Taneos Ramsay “When we walked around we understood how terrible it had been in the night.” Windsor Village resident Ground-floor apartments inundated with waves at height of hurricane cayman compass 2 N news WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 2024GO ALL-IN. GO FULL MANIA. Flow Mania is the first-ever all-in bundle that brings insanely fast 5G to the island. On top of that, you get absurd internet speeds at home with an incredible 1Gig broadband and Wi-Fi backup to guarantee the strongest connection, whatever happens. MANIA 500MANIA 1 GIG Broadband Speed500Mbps upload/download1Gig upload/download Data Allowance30 GBUnlimited New Features5G and WiFi Back-up Price$159/MO$229/MO Calculate how much you can save when you sign up for Flow Mania at discoverflow.co Terms and Conditions apply cayman compass 3 WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 20241234567 89 101112 13141516 17 181920 212223 2425 1234567 89 101112 13141516 17 181920 212223 2425 ACROSS 1 Sphere of influence (5) 4 To damp (7) 8 A charge for a service (3) 9 Sometime soon (3,3,3) 10 Obliquely (7) 11 Insinuate (5) 13 Empty (6) 15 Manually (2,4) 18 Commonplace (5) 19 Endeavour (7) 21 Constant (9) 23 Inordinately (3) 24 Be available to act (5,2) 25 Unspoken (5) DOWN 1 Without premeditation (7) 2 Emerge without profit or loss (5,4) 3 To aim (5) 4 Violent disorder (6) 5 Senselessness (7) 6 Unit of weight (3) 7 Absolutely not (2,3) 12 Guided by practical experience (9) 14 Badly brought up (3-4) 16 Northern US industrial city (7) 17 Equality in status (6) 18 Melancholy (5) 20 Firmly (5) 22 By way of (3) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 17675 The numbers in the black cells are clues. Numbers above the slash are across clues. Number below the slash are down clues. The goal is to enter digits 1 - 9 in the white cells to add up to the number clues. You cannot enter any digit more than once when adding up to clue. TODAY'S SOLUTIONS Puzzle 17675 ACROSS: 1 Orbit, 4 Moisten, 8 Fee, 9 Any day now, 10 Askance, 11 Imply, 13 Devoid, 15 By hand, 18 Banal, 19 Attempt, 21 Unvarying, 23 Too, 24 Stand by, 25 Tacit. DOWN: 1 Offhand, 2 Break even, 3 Train, 4 Mayhem, 5 Inanity, 6 Ton, 7 No way, 12 Pragmatic, 14 Ill-bred, 16 Detroit, 17 Parity, 18 Blues, 20 Tight, 22 Via. What they’re saying Online Readers weigh in on Hurricane Beryl Sorry for these owners, but we must put a stop to water-edge building. Denver Douglas Thank you Cayman Compass for keeping us informed. Ruby Marr I can just imagine the PTSD left by Hurricane Ivan was one of serious concern for our beloved Cayman. Susan LaRussell Reynolds Feel certain that most of these units would have been spared this damage had the water-barrier boards been installed properly. Hurricane shutters are designed to prevent damage from high winds, not waves. Another idea I suggested years ago, during our rebuild after Ivan, was to build out the patio areas of each unit. That is to enclose the patio adding it to the interior conditioned space. This will prevent the energy of the waves from being trapped in the patio area as the waves roll in from the sea. As we all know, you cannot stop the flow of the sea, but you can reroute it. Never trap it! You may want to share this information with the construction crew before they rebuild Windsor Village this time. Lindsay Scott, Williamsburg, Virginia Sad that they had to go through this … but this is what is causing people’s insurance to go up and the rest of us have to suffer. Monyque Brooks Thankful it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Betty Case The Compass did some great investigative journalism on low- income housing impacting many Caymanians and Cayman Islands some years ago. It would be interesting to know how persons living in those conditions and with limited means are coping with hurricane season. naomiingrace Thank you for the updates! Judy Weiner Arvey Those were built in the 80s and I don’t remember the big debate about condos being so close to water. Do you? Shelley Solomon Grace was so much worse and it wasn’t even categorized as a hurricane, which still annoys me. (It’s time for me to get over that.) It had much higher sustained wind speeds and ocean surges. I do feel badly for the people on the south coast with flooding from Beryl though. ellenmarcher Bless you, Cayman Compass staff. Luke Mahoney Surely sensible planning requirements and appropriate enforcement would stop this. Do these people need to evacuate every time a storm or hurricane is imminent? Paul Shaffer-Dee Praise the Lord for His care and protection over your islands. Florie Chow Thank you for your reports. Marcia Quimby Ortner This stressful storm and Cayman people still smile. Roxann Stevenson In the 70s, 80s, 90s into 2010 we just tracked on our maps based on coordinates of Cayman and the storms. Debby Crawford Full marks to the Compass for their updated reporting of the storm on the 3rd. This contrasted with our National Weather Service who, as of 4pm, still had their 6am bulletin posted. I called their number listed on their website and around 2pm and got a message it was no longer active. I tried another number they had and finally got hold of someone who promised to post another update which appeared after 4pm. Trusty2man Davies Happy everyone is safe. Pen Palmer Thank you Reshma. So grateful to be able to monitor this. Sharon Davies Windsor Village always gets smacked. It’s the position of it as it sticks out on the west side of South Sound. We watched Hurricane Wilma's waves pummel it one after another 19 years ago. Mary Jo Holzwarth Silva Best little island in the world. Morne Botes Thank you Cayman Compass. Patricia Bryan I remember Hurricane Gilbert in Cayman Islands. Pedro Chavez Thank you CUC! Water Authority, you seriously have to do better! Cutting our water off a 11pm because you felt like it, is just autocratic! Nothing about the weather was compromising at that time. Forcing people to use precious bottled supply to flush, and other water issues, was not necessary! Water could have remained until around 3am! How we are going to suffer when all these ill-thought-out developments come on line with this kind of leadership on such a critical need. Lilly Jane They should install heavy commercial rollup doors to protect the impact. Those doors are only tested for large and small missiles but not for a solid impact. Sun Feather These were scenes outside the Compass Storm Centre in the small hours of Thursday, 4 July, as Hurricane Beryl reached its closest point of approach to Grand Cayman. - Photo: Reshma Ragoonath cayman compass 4 news N news WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 2024WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 2024JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Hurricane Beryl, a rare and powerful early-season storm, skirted the Cayman Islands on Thursday, 4 July, 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. The 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 44 miles southwest of Grand Cayman. Premier Juliana O’Connor- Connolly, in a post-storm press conference Friday, confirmed there had been no injuries or deaths or any major infrastructural damage related to the hurricane in Cayman. O’Connor-Connolly said she had been in a meeting earlier Friday with other CARICOM leaders to discuss the storm that had caused destruction on a number of their islands. She added that she remained “overwhelmed with joy” that Cayman had not experienced the level of impacts seen from previous storms with lower speeds and intensity. “It’s nothing short of miraculous,” she said. Health Minister Sabrina Turner stated that the 911 centre dispatched emergency services to 202 calls made between 5pm on Wednesday and 5pm on Thursday. This included 52 medical calls, including the transfer of 38 patients who were bed-bound or immobile to shelters or private homes. There were 45 fire service calls, including downed power lines and trees blocking the roadways, and 104 law enforcement calls for service. Windsor Village damaged Windsor Village complex, on Cayman’s south shore, took the brunt of the impact (see page 2). 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 the erected roadblocks “due to the significant damage to the roadway and excessive debris”. Most homes retained power during the storm, with only 3,000 households, mostly in the eastern districts, losing electricity. The majority had their power restored by late afternoon on Thursday. Water Authority – Cayman 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. 1,000 go to government shelters Around 1,000 people took refuge in government shelters and hundreds more left homes in low- Residents flocked to hardware stores on the public holiday Monday before the storm to ensure they were well prepared with plywood and sandbags. - Photo: Dana Kampa Hurricane Beryl, as it approached Cayman on the evening of 3 July. – Photo: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (CSU/CIRA & NOAA). PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6» Battered but not beaten Cayman escapes almost unscathed following brush with Category 3 Hurricane Beryl cayman compass 5 news N news WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 2024RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky While the Cayman Islands was spared significant damage, Hurricane Beryl left a path of death and destruction through the Caribbean. The storm, which came off the West African coast, will go down in the record books as the earliest Category 4 or 5 hurricane to form in the Atlantic. Beryl broke the previous record for the strongest Category 5 hurricane (winds of at least 160 miles per hour) by more than two weeks. That record was set by Hurricane Emily on 17 July 2005. The storm had developed into a Category 4 hurricane on the morning of 30 June – the only Cat 4 storm to ever form in the month of June. Beryl was also one of the fastest- forming hurricanes on record. It took just 42 hours for it to go from a tropical depression – with maximum sustained wind speeds of 38mph or less – to a major hurricane, a status given to storms with maximum sustained winds of 111 miles per hour. At least 10 people were killed as Beryl made her way through the Caribbean. Forecasters at Colorado State University’s Tropical Meteorology Project have projected an “extremely active” hurricane season, calling for as many as 23 named storms that surpass winds of 39 miles per hour or higher. lying areas to stay with friends or book into hotels to ride out the storm (see page 8). All of the government’s 20 shelters were open, as well as the Red Cross shelter, on Wednesday, with some residents opting to go there early that day, as the fearsome storm barrelled towards Cayman. 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. Meanwhile, the Humane Society appealed to people to help evacuate animals from its shelter, so they could be safe during the storm. The Humane Society’s shelter regularly floods in heavy rains. As usual, volunteers arrived in droves to foster the dogs and cats. After the storm passed, the shelter appealed to those who had taken the animals home to keep them for a few more days while repairs were under way. Tourists evacuate before Hurricane Beryl Ahead of Hurricane Beryl, people flocked to the airport to leave 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 (see page 13). Cayman Airways put on 24 evacuation flights, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan confirmed, offering 3,765 seats in the two days prior to the arrival of the hurricane. The airports on all three islands were closed Wednesday afternoon, and reopened Thursday, enabling Cayman Airways planes that had been used in the evacuation flights to return home. The port in Grand Cayman was also closed to cargo and cruise ships. Bryan, speaking at the press briefing, said the cargo port reopened Friday and cruise ships will begin arriving on Monday. 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 (see page 7). 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. Premier thanks God Announcing the ‘all clear’ on government television at 1pm Thursday, Premier 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. Parking problem Along the sides of any roads that were elevated, lines of parked cars could be seen, as owners tried to find places where their vehicles could be protected from floodwaters. On Friday, with some of those vehicles still in place, police urged owners to claim their cars and move them as soon as possible as they were blocking cycle paths and pedestrian lanes. “These vehicles were placed in these locations to protect them from the hurricane; however, the threat has now passed,” the RCIPS said in a statement Friday. “Parking on a bicycle and pedestrian lane is not only illegal under The Traffic Act, but causes a safety risk for other road users.” 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.” 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. The overwhelming emotion, as the storm passed and the ‘all-clear’ was issued just after 1pm Thursday, was deep relief. Hurricane Beryl breaks records Cayman was under a Hurricane Warning from 1pm on Wednesday, 3 July. - Photo: Dana Kampa CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 Battered but not beaten Shutters and plywood protected windows and doors of thousands of homes across the islands. - Photo: Taneos Ramsay cayman compass 6 news N news WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 2024RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Childbirth is always a memorable occasion, especially for a first-time mum, but George Town resident Mya Charlika Bennett-Beason delivering her baby girl during Hurricane Beryl will forever hold special significance. Bennett-Beason’s baby, Vinayah Olivia Beason, was born at 9:20pm Wednesday, as the entire community was hunkered down awaiting the arrival of Category 3 Hurricane Beryl. “I’m blessed and I’m also happy. She’s beautiful,” Bennett-Beason told the Cayman Compass Thursday afternoon. Emergency procedure Bennett-Beason said she had been keenly following Hurricane Beryl’s track and praying that the baby would not come during the storm. But Vinayah had other plans. The due date was 17 July, but Bennett-Beason said when she went to Doctors Hospital on Tuesday, 2 July, her doctor told her the baby was ready and was getting too big. “I got induced around 1pm and I went home, and then I came back around 8pm to get admitted,” she said. “I was anxious because I was wondering what else could possibly happen, and then [my husband] was just, like, he doesn’t want me to stay home and I end up in labour while the hurricane is going and I can’t get on the road.” Because she was not dilating fast enough to be able to give birth naturally, as she had hoped, emergency steps had to be taken. At just around the time Hurricane Beryl was making her presence felt in the Sister Islands, bringing strong winds and rain, the mother-to-be was told she needed to have an emergency Caesarean section. Anxious moment Bennett-Beason said she was scared when she was told doctors would have to perform the procedure. “I haven’t had a surgery in my life before ... I kind of panicked before going in the room. But, after all, it was good because I didn’t feel anything. It was fine,” she said. The new mum said going into the operating theatre with the hurricane coming was “tense”, not only because of the storm, but she was also worried about the procedure. However, she said her main concern was the baby. “It wasn’t really anything I’d planned, but whatever [was needed] to get her here, I had to do it,” she said. Husband Vincent Beason, who was at her side throughout the 35-minute procedure, said he was anxious, but not about the storm. “I wasn’t paying attention to no hurricane. I forgot about that. I was trying to cheer [my wife] up. She was down because she never ever wanted a C-section. But [with the dilating problem] she had to. I was trying to cope along with her and tell her we need to do this to get Vinayah,” Beason said. Positive outcomes That task fell to obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr. Lisa Hinzmann, and paediatrician Dr. Tamara Bugembe, both of whom volunteered to work at the hospital while the storm passed. Both doctors are new to the Cayman Islands, having arrived in May and June from Germany and the UK, respectively. Neither had never experienced a hurricane. “We had a little baby girl born in the middle of the hurricane by emergency C-section and it was so nice to have a moment of joy during quite a challenging time. ... I only arrived at the island in June so I was a little bit anxious. I didn’t know what to expect,” Bugembe said. She said the George Town- based hospital had done a lot of preparation ahead of the storm so she felt comfortable. “It was nice to have something different to do instead of thinking about the hurricane,” she added. She said there was a full team on site and “everyone was calm and relaxed”. “Even though there was a hurricane happening around us, it was just like a normal C-section. We focused on the best outcomes for the mother and the baby,” Bugembe said. Hinzmann said she felt safer at the hospital than at her apartment and was happy to have the team on hand for the emergency procedure. She added that while she was concerned about the storm, when it was time for the surgery, she “forgot about the hurricane because everything felt quite normal”. She said the procedure went well without any complications, and, while she had performed hundreds before, this one was special. “I was waiting two months to do a C-section and I was quite happy when the day came. Unfortunately, it was the same day the first hurricane came for me. But I will now always remember this day in a positive way than a negative way,” Hinzmann said. Dr. Richard Preece, Doctors Hospital medical director, said he was pleased with his team for stepping up. “Hurricanes stop many things but they don’t stop babies arriving – when they’re ready, we have to be ready, too. I am very proud of Lisa, Tamara, and the whole Doctors Hospital team, and delighted for mum, baby, and family,” he told the Compass. He said the hospital brought in their pregnant patients ahead of the storm as a precaution. When it came to picking a name for the baby, the Beasons said Beryl was absolutely off the list. They picked a name that combined the names of mum and dad. After the surgery, with their new baby in their arms, the proud parents' focus then turned to the storm and any impact on it may have had on their home, which had been spared. Couple welcomes baby girl during storm “Hurricanes stop many things but they don’t stop babies arriving - when they’re ready, we have to be ready, too.” Dr. Richard Preece Proud parents Mya Charlika Bennett-Beason and Vincent Beason with baby Vinayah Olivia. - Photo: Reshma Ragoonath cayman compass 7 news N news WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 2024SHANDA GALLEGO AND DANA KAMPA 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 didn’t reach the Cayman Islands until the early hours of Thursday morning, shelter managers urged residents to decide early if they planned to remain at home or seek refuge at one of about 20 shelters across Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. They opened their doors Wednesday morning, receiving people and their pets, as well as animals from the Cayman Islands Humane Society. Ultimately, about 1,000 people took advantage of the facilities, Premier Juliana O'Connor-Connolly said. Learning experience Workers with the Red Cross, Health Services Authority, Public Works Department, the Cayman Islands Regiment and other organisations collaborated to offer refuge. “It was a good collaboration between all the responding agencies,” Red Cross director Jondo Obi said. She said the exact figure for how many people utilised the facilities was somewhat fluid as people came and went depending upon the weather. According to the Public Works Department, Grand Cayman has capacity to shelter more than 5,000 people, and Cayman Brac can accommodate another 1,000. Little Cayman has one shelter at the Public Works Department that can fit 140 people. While shelters can provide safety for many, it is a small percentage of the estimated 80,000-plus residents. And while many tourists had time to flee before this storm, that may not always be the case. As weather began to clear Thursday afternoon, shelter volunteers were working to help vulnerable community members secure their transportation home. Obi also noted that none of the shelters sustained significant damage. This early-season storm provided a valuable opportunity for the organisations to learn and prepare for the rest of the season. “You always learn,” Obi said. “We want to make sure we have a coordinated and better response for the country.” 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. The gymnasium is one of two pet-friendly shelters on the islands. Noah’s Ark in Cayman Brac, situated on the Bluff, is also designated as a pet-friendly facility on a first come, first serve basis. ‘Take care of your animals’ During a press briefing the afternoon before the storm struck, O’Connor-Connolly said, “safety is our top priority”. “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 had a dedicated space, separate from the people staying at the shelter, which had 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 Compass Wednesday afternoon. Residents were told to bring non- perishable food and water, blankets, hygiene products, medication and first aid supplies, clothing, personal identification and important documents. “We’ve checked all the doors; we can [with]stand very strong winds and to keep the rains [out] 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,” Machembe said as people began filtering into the shelter. East End refuge The shelter at Clifton Hunter High School has the largest capacity of all the East End shelters, able to accommodate about 630 people. At 3pm Wednesday, a dozen regiment members from the B squad set to preparing the site to welcome as many people as needed. Lt. Tyler Lawson said at the time that the shelter was prepared to house people for at least a week if needed. As it turned out, with the storm not hitting Cayman as hard as expected, the shelters emptied out Thursday following the all clear. Medical staff on hand Many of the main shelters on island are located at local schools, with several having Health Services Authority staff stationed there during storms. Delia Hydes, one of the main shelter managers at Theoline L. McCoy Primary School, said, though it is one of the smaller shelters, the school is able to accommodate about 80 people and had food and other necessities that could last for several days. Red Cross worker Rosalie Johnson said medical staff were also prepared to offer support at the Savannah Primary School shelter, which could accommodate 135 people. Sheltering from the storm 1,000 utilise hurricane shelters on Grand Cayman and Sister Islands Some of the shelters were animal-friendly. – Photo: Shanda Gallego Hurricane Shelter manager Musa Machembe prepare cots for incoming residents. - Photo: Dana Kampa Members of the Cayman Islands Regiment unload supplies at the Clifton Hunter High School hurricane shelter ahead of the storm. - Photo: Dana Kampa cayman compass 8 news N news WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 2024Live your life. Visit us online at islandheritageinsurance.com or call +1 345 949 7280 HOME MOTOR MARINE CONTENTS COMMERCIAL With Island Heritage you can. As a leading local insurer for over 25 years, we have a consistent track record of providing best-in-class when you need it most—the Island Heritage way. cayman compass 9 WEEKLY, 5 - 11 JULY 2024Next >