Maxine Moore Little Cayman resident and correspondent for Net News

By Steven Knipp
steve@caymannetnews.com

Hurricane Paloma and its 145-mile per hour winds pounded Little Cayman, knocking out power and damaging buildings, but no one was injured and the spirits of its 200 residents remain high, according to reports from the island.

Larry Foster, District Officer on Little Cayman, told Cayman Net News on Sunday, 9 November: “A huge number of light poles are down - I’m not sure of the number as I haven’t yet been able to tour the whole island yet, but it looks to be well over 50 percent in most places, and it might be worse on the western part of the island.

“As there is no electricity anywhere on the island, these downed poles don’t pose any immediate danger,” he added.

“I believe that there are still just over 30 people still in the shelters, mostly elderly people and some babies.

“I’ve spoken to the Governor just a little while ago, and he told me that help was on the way. I’m not sure how many supplies are coming, but we’ll certainly be happy to see them.

“When Gustav hit, it took us about a week to get full electricity back, but it may take us considerably longer this time, because the power plant itself was apparently damaged. The doors to the building were blown out and there may also have been some damage to the generator itself. We’re not sure at this point.”

Little Cayman resident and Cayman Net News correspondent Maxine Moore reported by cell phone: “I don’t think that we got hit as hard as the Brac, but Little Cayman has a lot of damage,” Mrs Moore said.
“But thank God nobody has been killed, or hurt.”

Mrs Moore said that Damian Ebanks, of the Public Works Department, together with her husband, Wade Moore, of Cayman Brac Power & Light, were using a bulldozer to try to clear the poles off the roads and to make sure that the downed wires were moved out of the way, so that they are safe once electric power is returned.

“You can drive a car though some roads, but most of them are still just big ponds now,” she said.

Mrs Moore added that both of the island’s two police officers and its two nurses were busy checking on everyone. Aside from herself and husband Wade, Mrs Moore’s extended family includes her oldest son Miguel Thompson, who is a fireman, and Arrowe, age 11, as well as her grandson Jovian, age five.

“We all thank God that no one was hurt, neither in our family, nor anywhere on the island.”

The two oldest residents of Little Cayman, Jack Ebanks, age 91, and Miss Rilly, also 91, are both “doing fine” in a shelter, according to Mrs Moore.

“The roofs from part of the Village Inn got torn off by the winds, which had just been repaired after Hurricane Gustav. And the Baptist church has had its roof damaged and some of the windows were blown out,” she said. Despite the damage, full services went ahead on Sunday morning, 9 November.

“Right now,” Mrs Moore said, “we still have good cell phone connections, although the Internet has been down and still is. We have enough canned goods, but we will probably be needing fresh water and more food soon.”

Mr Foster noted that dealing with Hurricane Paloma was made more complicated by the arrival of eight Cubans, on two small boats, which were sighted just off the island’s north coast.

“We tried to reach them on various radio frequencies, but they did not respond.” Mr Foster confirmed that they finally beached their boats and were picked up by Little Cayman police officers.

“They are now safe and sound in one of our tourist accommodations. In fact, they are probably more comfortable than many of our own islanders at the moment,” he said. “Collecting them was a bit of a distraction for our police at a very busy time, but we are all glad that everyone is now okay.”

Mr Foster, a native of Cayman Brac, who has five sons and two daughters, said that spirits remain high across the island. “Cayman people are well known for being resilient and tough minded. And people here are in pretty good spirits now. We’re all relieved that no one’s been hurt.

“But in a few days’ time, I’m sure that the stresses of the situation will start to take effect,” he added.