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Sun 3:00 pm: Sister Islands MLAs assist with relief, cope with personal damage
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| Published on Sunday, November 9, 2008 |
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Moses Kirkconnell
Sister islands MLA
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Julianna O’Connor-Connolly Sister Islands MLA
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Sister Islands MLAs Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and Moses Kirkconnell updated Cayman Net News on conditions on Cayman Brac on Sunday, 9 November.
Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, first elected member for the Sister Islands, said she was out assessing damages and meeting members of the community.
Speaking to Cayman Net News this afternoon from the Government Command Centre at the Gerrard Smith International Airport, Ms O’Connor-Connolly said the people of the Brac were “trying to put the best foot forward and assess the damages”.
Ms O’Connor-Connolly described Brac residents emerging from shelters to an “absolute disaster.” She said many people were overwhelmed and “in shock” once they witnessed the devastation.
She described extensive damage to the majority of homes on the Brac, as well as to businesses and churches on the island.
“Almost every church here is damaged,” she said, adding that the Baptist church on the Brac was completely lost, with only the building’s foundation remaining.
Ms O’Connor-Connolly said roads on the north side of Cayman Brac had been cleared by today, but roads on the South Side remained impassable and extensively flooded.
She described how she made her way on foot from Watering Place to Spot Bay yesterday along the beach and iron shore.
Spot Bay, she said, was one of the hardest hit areas on the island although all of the Brac was badly affected by the storm.
Ms O’Connor-Connolly described residents’ efforts to help one another in the midst of the damages. The owners of Billy’s Supermarket, the family of Billy Bodden, were outside their destroyed store giving food away, she said.
Additionally, Ms O’Connor-Connolly, her sisters and her mothers have been cooking on a propane stove at her mother’s house and distributing hot food to people in the community and emergency workers.
She described the scene on her own property, saying that her six–and-a-half acre farm has been “totally demolished” and that the upstairs section of her house “gave away” with water seeping through her home.
However, Ms. O’Connor-Connolly said, “We are alive, so I am grateful.”
She also maintained a positive attitude about the restoration efforts.
“It will be a long road ahead, especially regarding restoring electricity and the homes here. It is going to be difficult but we’ll get through it,” she said.
Ms O’Connor-Connolly also expressed her gratitude to “the many friends of the Sister Islands who have sent supplies and messages of support. We are extremely grateful as the need here is colossal,” she said.
The second elected member for the Sister Islands, Mr Kirkconnell did not escape the wrath of Paloma and his own home was also damaged.
This morning he was out with Cayman Brac District Commissioner Ernie Scott assessing damages island-wide on Cayman Brac and working with Cayman Brac Power & Light to get the island’s electricity infrastructure back up.
Mr Kirkconnell said that up to this morning there were no known serious injuries or deaths on Cayman Brac, and no “major incidents” or crime had been reported.
Mr Kirkconnell described relief efforts occurring on the Sister Islands today, and advised that the main priority at this time is to get electricity back on so that essential services such as the hospital can begin operating close to normal.
He also said power was urgently needed to get the Brac’s gas pumps working, allowing emergency services personnel to could get much-needed fuel for vehicles and equipment.
Mr Kirkconnell said that there is a great need for shelter as so many homes were damaged or destroyed. The Brac’s schools are now being opened as shelters, because some of the island’s hurricane shelters were significantly damaged during Paloma’s strike. | | | | Reads : 2199 |
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Melissa Hesselbach:
I want to express my gratitude to Carlee of the Cayman Brac Red Cross for answering my plea for information regarding the welfare of my family following the destruction of Paloma. Thanks too for the friends around the USA who contacted me with consolations. |
| Dave Holmes (Benjy):
As a former head teacher of Creek Primary School, Cayman Brac, and long time friend and "adopted son" of the Cayman Islands, my heart goes out to all my friends, former students, and all the families on The Brac. I also feel confident that, because of the tenacity and strength of goodwill in the community, the reconstruction will, eventually, be soon achieved under the direction of Mrs Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and others. Please let us know what we, those of us abroad, can do to help. |
| Fernando Ebanks:
I just want to say that my prayers are for my people of Cayman Brac! God will help us get us through this! At this time we must walk by faith and not by sight. When we are weak He is strong! I also thank God for our leaders in the Brac, Mr Kirkconnell and Ms O’Connor-Connolly, and Mr Ernie Scott and Mark Tibbetts, I pray for them for wisdom and strength. Thank God for no loss of life; houses and buildings can be rebuilt but lost lives can't! My prayers are with you Cayman Brac! I love you all |
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