Mon 10 Nov 2008
(Note : I made another post about Grand Cayman a few minutes ago. See “Hurricane Paloma – The end” below)
I thinks its worth taking a few moments to talk about the sisters Islands ; Cayman Brac & Little Cayman. Grand Cayman was fortunate ; the sisters islands were not lucky at all. Our thoughts are with them. The storm changed to a Category 4 and took an eastern turn which caused havoc in our sister islands. The situation is grim.
Here is a abstract from today’s Caymanian compass about the Sister Islands situation:
=============================
Cayman Islands’ national airline announced that voluntary evacuations would begin from Cayman Brac Sunday, if conditions and space permitted, for residents who wished to travel to Grand Cayman. Cayman Airways officials said the flights would be free of charge and offered over the next four days “as operations permit.”
Hurricane Paloma left a trail of destruction on both Little Cayman and Cayman Brac after striking the islands early Saturday with sustained winds of up to 140mph, and higher gusts. Entire houses were destroyed in the storm and many other structures had their roofs damaged or ripped off entirely. There were injuries reported on the Sister Islands Saturday, but no deaths. District officials were in the process of determining which Sister Islands’ residents might have to be relocated to Grand Cayman because they had nowhere to stay. It was unknown how many people had been left homeless by the storm.
==============================
For some pictures of this disaster, please see which appear to have been taken by someone in a private airplane. The newspapers do not seem to even have these pictures since it is my understanding that planes are not able to land on the islands yet because of flooding & debris.
http://www.caymanweather.net/crewe/paloma/
Here is a terrifying YouTube video I found from the Brac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJV9a4VA0dA
The Caymanian Compass
It is great to hear there are no serious injuries from the results of Paloma. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone as you rebuild, repair and clean up from the storm damage.
I do have a curious question, what type of building codes are inforced for
caribbean islands? I understand it would be expensive to build structures that would withstand hurricane force winds, but it seems the investment would be beneficial with hurricane seasons becoming more fierce.
We love the Cayman Islands and wish you
a quick recovery.
Once again, Micho, you are a wealth of information that is difficult to obtain elsewhere. Thank you taking the time to post photos and provide updates. Glad you came out virtually unscathed by Paloma – hoping the sister islands recover quickly.
Whether tracking your weather, or your travels or your life on the island, your blog is a great read.