Cayman Brac faced a serious downpour last week, the first week of the hurricane season 2006, which tested the Island's drainage systems and threatened to flood a number of buildings including the West End Primary School (WEPS), one of two official Brac shelters.

Almost thirteen inches of rain fell on Cayman Brac between Saturday 3 June and by 1:00 pm on Wednesday 7 June, according to the Meteorological Office on Grand Cayman, and almost half of this (6.11 inches) fell on Wednesday and officials were forced to work hard to keep the water at bay.

As only twelve days of the six month long hurricane season have passed, it is clear that work needs to be done to ensure the safety of residents before a major storm hits -  in particular at the WEPS shelter.

"There is definitely a problem at West End, and we do recognize that more work needs to be done there," said Deputy District Commissioner Ernie Scott.

Meanwhile public works staff were busy doing their best to keep drains clear to help the flood waters subside.

Lessons from Hurricane Ivan demonstrated that high winds although problematic for some buildings did not cause as much serious damage as the excessive flooding which occurred from the rain and sea-surge associated with the September 2004 storm.