Grand Cayman Asked to Brace for Direct Hit

Leader of Government Business, Hon. Kurt Tibbetts (L) and Minister of Works Hon.
Arden McLean at the press briefing this morning

Friday,  August 17, 2007

The Leader of Government Business, the Hon. Kurt D. Tibbetts, urged all residents of Grand Cayman this morning (Friday 17 August) to be prepared for a direct hit from a predicted strong Category Four Hurricane Dean. The storm is forecast to have 130 mph winds when over Grand Cayman.

Briefing the media at the Government Information Services conference room, Mr. Tibbetts and his Cabinet colleague, the Hon. Arden V. McLean, Minister of Works, made a direct plea to all residents not to take Hurricane Dean lightly but to complete all their preparations as early as possible.

“I urge all residents not to be complacent about Hurricane Dean,” Mr Tibbetts said. “Take it seriously. Prepare for the worst case scenario,” he added.

Cayman has learned a lot of lessons from Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 and this knowledge should come in handy now, he noted.

The National Hurricane Committee (NHC) recommends that if residents have not completed their preparations, they should do so today and tomorrow, he stressed.

Minister McLean said: “I implore every resident to prepare for the hurricane. Take no chances. Don’t second guess. This is what many of us did in Hurricane Ivan and we paid a price. This is a serious hurricane and the country needs to go into preparatory mode now.”

The Ministers also advised that MLAs would be working with their constituents by this evening to get required supplies to those who need them to prepare for the dangerous storm that is barrelling towards Cayman.

Minister Tibbetts also announced that all civil servants were paid August pay cheques today to facilitate their securing supplies, and preparing their homes and families for the hurricane.

Mr. Tibbetts said His Excellency the Governor, Mr Stuart Jack, CVO, who is currently off island, has been apprised and is expected to return either this evening, or tomorrow afternoon. Three other Cabinet Ministers are also off-island currently. Minister of Tourism the Hon. Charles Clifford is expected to return this evening while Minister of Health the Hon. Anthony Eden would return tomorrow morning, he indicated. Minister of Education the Hon. Alden McLaughlin has been contacted and asked to return as soon as possible, he added.

Minister Tibbetts, who has responsibility for District Administration, said he had met two weeks ago and spoken this morning to Sister Islands’ authorities and learnt that preparations were in full gear.

Replying to a question about possible price gouging, Mr. Tibbetts pointed to the law that was passed following Hurricane Ivan and of which local businesses were aware. The law would be enforced, he said.

Asked about RCIP’s readiness to deal with the storm and its aftermath, the Leader of Government Business said this had been discussed at length on several occasions and the RCIP has a contingency plan in place.

He also said he had held discussions with both the gasoline companies regarding fuel supply, and contingency plans for both Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands. Generators had been placed in several gas stations to deal with sale of fuel at the pumps in the aftermath of the storm.

To a query about where people should park their cars to ride out the storm, Minister McLean said the lot at the head of Linford Pierson Highway (at the intersection with Bobby Thompson Way) would be used to park emergency vehicles and the general public should refrain from parking their vehicles there. However, people should seek higher ground to park their vehicles, staying away from low-lying areas, he suggested. “It is very important you preserve a means of transportation,” he stressed.

To another question, Mr McLean said loose debris from the demolished Red Bay plaza would be removed before midday today. The building which had its roof and doors already removed had to be demolished to avoid its top blowing off in the storm. The authorities at the landfill were also at work to mitigate the potential for debris flying off the landfill. Debris had been compiled into 2,000 and 3,000 lb bales and authorities were looking at further ways to contain that situation.

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