Hurricane SeaDamage Poses Major Threat
KirklandNixon, Donovan Ebanks
Rising seas from hurricanes can producesignificant damage to Cayman even when winds have abated locally,but there is not enough awareness of this danger say officialsof the National Hurricane Committee (NHC).
Said Kirkland Nixon, Coordinator of theNHC: "The ocean is very deceptive in that it has the potentialfor massive destruction as we saw in Hurricane Michelle last year.With winds of only 35 mph we had all that damage along the coast.People who haven't experienced the raging sea were amazed, butthat's the way it can be."
Deputy Chief Secretary, Donovan Ebanks,educated as a civil engineer, pointed out that there could belittle correlation between wave action and the more common characteristic wind speed. "Most people generally take their cue forreacting to a storm threat from the wind conditions that havebeen broadcast, but for people adjacent to the shoreline, winddamage is less of a threat than is wave damage," said Mr.Ebanks. "During Hurricane Michelle you could be on the coastroad seeing all that damage taking place on the seaside whileacross the road there were no problems whatsoever." Hurricaneexperts emphasize that, even with winds well below hurricane strength,extensive destruction can be caused by massive storm surges createdby such factors as the absence of reefs or protective vegetation,reduced atmospheric pressure in a hurricane, shallow sea-bed andhigh winds hundreds of miles distant.
During Michelle, it was striking that alongSouth Church Street; there were older properties on the seasidethat survived intact while newer ones (built say within the last30 years) were damaged. That, said Mr. Ebanks is simply a reflectionof the fact that Caymanians traditionally didn't build where theyknew the sea 'had been'. "When we had to put down our hard-earnedsavings and with no insurance to fall back on, we showed a greatdeal more respect for the sea than we do now in this era of loans,mortgages and indiscriminating insurance coverage of our risks,"he said.
Mr. Ebanks stressed that persons who chooseto build along the shoreline are clearly doing so on the basisthat they have accepted the "physical" risk of stormsurge damage. "Even when wind damage is not of great concern,it doesn't mean that there is no potential wave damage. We sawthat first-hand in Hurricane Michelle," he said. "Whilethere have been major advances in the systems that can be usedto protect buildings from the risk of wind damage (shutters, etc),none of these systems constitutes real protection from wave damage;the forces are of a substantially different magnitude. Even buildingseawalls to protect you against wave damage is futile. The experienceof the Marriott Hotel and other properties in that area of SevenMile Beach shows that these do not work."
Another factor during wave action is thatof the solitary wave, unusually large and powerful, that can suddenlystrike along the shore wiping out buildings in one blow. Thisphenomenon was seen here during Hurricane Michelle in damage causedat English Point, the Turtle Farm and at private residences alongthe West Coast.
Mr. Ebanks also touched on the matter ofinsurance coverage where shoreline damage claims drive up ratesisland wide. "The insurance companies are letting 98% ofthe population bear the cost of the wave damage incurred by the2% who feel that they just have to be at the very edge. Maybeit is time that rates for property insurance are based on claimhistory. Why should the premiums for the Northward resident beaffected by the damage claims from those who chose to developadjacent to the sea?"
On hurricane advice generally, Mr. Nixonsaid extra precaution is needed in Cayman because both hurricaneshelter space and escape opportunities are limited. "Thereis only so much potential for an airline flight out," hesaid, "and we can't do what people in North America can do;get in their cars and drive away from the danger area."
The NHC has consistently been urging residentsto take the broadcast storm warnings seriously and to act responsibly,said Nixon. "We cannot emphasize enough that the only thingpredictable about hurricanes is their unpredictability,"he said. "This is not an exact science and recent experiencein the Western Caribbean shows us that the storms here, particularlylate in the season, are more intensive and less predictable thanthe storms in the Eastern Caribbean. The Weather Office informationwe give out are always estimates and the individual must takethe responsibility early to secure and/or evacuate. We appreciatethe inconvenience and the cost of doing this, but you have tobe responsible; if you're not, someday it may cost you or yourfamily dearly. We simply have to become more aware of what canhappen.
There's no substitute for experience andin that sense I think Hurricane Michelle showed a lot of the skepticsin Cayman how wrong they could be."