Extensive damage and destruction as slow-moving Hurricane Ivan continues to batter Grand Cayman

Hurricane Ivan moving to the southwest of Grand Cayman on September 12, 2004. 
The eye of the storm was some 30 miles to the southwest of the island, with
sustained hurricane force winds of up to 155 mph extending outwards 90 miles
from the centre.  NOAA - Visible Image

Sunday, September 12, 2004

As of 11 am local time (12 noon EDT), Hurricane Ivan continued to pound Grand Cayman with155 mph winds as it moved slowly along the south coast of the island.

According to the National Hurricane Service in Miami, at 11 am EDT the eye of Hurricane Ivan was about 30 miles southwest of Grand Cayman, but hurricane force winds extended for about 90 miles from the centre of the storm.

As the centre of circulation moves to the southwest of the island, the winds will start to shift to the south, likely exacerbating the dangerous sea conditions already existing around the coasts. In previous hurricanes, the sea has flooded across the island, joining the North and South Sounds, and, with the 6 to 8 ft tidal surge accompanying Ivan, it is possible that hurricane-force southerly winds could result in breaking waves across the entire neck of land separating the two Sounds.

The government-run Radio Cayman is currently off the air as a result of damage to the building housing its studios, with floodwater 2 feet deep in the parking lot. According to Radio Cayman’s News Director, Joel Francis, “We just didn’t see this coming.”

The Government Information Service is also unable to operate and this report has been prepared from unofficial information obtained from local sources.

As predicted, widespread flooding from the expected tidal surge was affecting a large part of the island. One report of a house standing eight feet above normal sea level had water ankle-deep inside. In lower-lying areas there have been reports of people having to climb onto kitchen counters to escape the seas that came flooding into their houses.

At the offices of Cayman Net News, at the time of filing this report, a foot of floodwater has entered the building causing much damage.

The hurricane force winds have torn roofs off and reportedly devastated homes, even in affluent, well-constructed neighbourhoods.

Vehicles parked in flood-prone areas are said to have “just disappeared.”

With many buildings, both residential and commercial, utilising septic tank waste treatment systems, the widespread flooding is resulting in serious health and sanitation concerns as overflowing sewage becomes mixed with the flood waters.

At the Cable & Wireless emergency bunker at One Technology Place, a number of people were given shelter after roofs blew off their houses.

Floodwater rushing through the ground floor apartments in at least one condominium building in West Bay forced the occupants to flee for their own safety to the floors above.

There has been a report that the Hyatt Regency hotel had to be evacuated.

All three islands are currently without any electricity, while water supplies were shut down Saturday night for fear of contamination from broken mains.

Telecommunications are inconsistent and unreliable. Many landlines, especially those that rely on the mains electrical supply are out of commission, but cellular services are still working intermittently.

Reports from the Sister Islands have been scarce, but it is understood that many residents of Cayman Brac sought shelter in the caves on the Bluff, the traditional refuge from hurricanes on that island.

All emergency services personnel have been required to stay at their posts through normal shift changes because it has been too dangerous for the incoming shift to venture out in the current conditions. This has doubtless resulted in a high degree of tiredness and stress for those emergency workers who have been on duty since Saturday.

Sky News in Britain has been carrying live reports every hour from Cayman Net News Publisher and Editor in Chief Desmond Seales, MBE, from the newspaper’s offices in Allista Towers, in George Town, Grand Cayman.

According to Mr Seales, “This is a national disaster. Damage is likely to run into the tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars.”

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