Cayman Net News hurricane coverage praised - website recorded 20,000 hits

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Hurricane coverage by Cayman Net News has been praised after its website was hit nearly 20,000 times

Following the recent brush with Hurricane Charley, Cayman Net News has received many expressions of appreciation for our frequently updated coverage of the current weather situation. Some of these can be seen in our online forum postings.

A constant theme of these messages is that our website was the only means many overseas readers, be they Cayman residents who happened to be travelling, or others with family or friends in the Cayman Islands, had of keeping up to date with events.

Indeed, our website received almost 20,000 hits (19,959 to be exact) within the space of 24 hours last Thursday, three to four times our usual daily traffic.

According to Publisher and Editor in Chief, Desmond Seales, “The reliance placed upon the information published by us illustrates once again the need for timely and full information to be made available to the media.

“As long as we receive the information needed by readers, we will publish it online almost immediately. If there is a problem in Cayman, our website can always be updated by US staff,” he added.

Mr Seales went on to encourage Government departments and other interests, especially airlines, to provide reliable and timely weather and travel information for the benefit of the public at large.

“I also emphasise the necessity for reliable information,” he added, referring to the flawed story by an international news organsiation about Hurricane Lili’s affect on the Cayman Islands in 2002, which reported eight deaths and 100,000 people homeless, none of which occurred here.

“Without the cooperation of Cayman’s National Hurricane Committee and Government Information Services,” Mr Seales went on to say, “it would not have been possible to put out the news that we carried on a timely basis.”

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