The next decade....what's in store?

Dear Family and Friends,

I am sure you are all anxious to hear about our experiences concerning Hurricane Ivan which destroyed Grand Cayman Island. It was a nightmare, an unbelievable time. No one was prepared for the viciousness of Ivan, even all the Caribbean people who go through these often. This was the worst recorded hurricane ever to hit the Cayman Islands, # 5 in severity with 200 mi/hr winds traveling at 8 mi/hr. (hurricanes are usually 24 mi/hr). As our building was hurricane safe and off the ocean, my husband and I decided to stay in our condo. All the windows were boarded over with large sheets of plywood. We prepared ourselves with drinking water, snacks, flashlights, plenty of batteries and candles and settled down for the night.

This was Sat. Sept 11. (Ironic)

The winds started to really pick up around midnight and proceeded in intensity throughout the night.

Around 5AM we were awakened by the sound of water.

We realized water was poring in from our boarded up windows and within 30 minutes were up to our knees in water. We started putting our belongings that were on lower shelves up on counters and our dressers, etc. We lit our candles and settled down to watch the storm, radio on to listen to any updates on the storm. By 7 AM the water was up to midthigh and we had lost all radio contact.

One of the things they tell you is not to leave your dwelling under any circumstances, you are safer to stay in side your home rather than try and get out as then you are exposed openly to the elements. I should mention when the surge burst through the door it swept everything that we had stored on the counters and dresser tops off into the fast flowing water out the front door. We lost everything, including our candles, flashlights and drinking water.

Our fridge, stove, washer and dryer were floating.

The water started to subside around 5PM and we were able to move back to the kitchen counter, though the ceiling was partially down. At around 7PM the winds started to subside, where we felt safe enough to venture to higher ground though the winds were still pretty strong and the water was at waist level. We made it to the condo above and behind us and they were wonderful neighbours. We just knew them to say hi but they brought us in, clothed us, fed us and gave us a bed. We have been living with them since and they have made us feel welcome. We will stay with them until we find further arrangements.

The next morning we woke up to calm weather. We ventured down to our condo to assess the damage and almost cried. We had lost everything, our clothes, shoes, appliances, everything. We were able to save our laptop, a few pictures, jewelry and important papers, but other than that all we had were the clothes on our back, which weren't even ours. We even found someone else's chair in our living room, books that weren't ours, etc. The place looked like a bomb had struck.

Everyone was walking around in shock. Everyone's place on the ground level looked like ours or worse. The house behind us was no more, gone into the ocean.

We walked to Grand Harbour, where my husband works and people were walking around devastated. It is hard to believe but we fared better than a lot of other places. The condos all along the ocean were gone. We now have an ocean view. We lost both of our cars and I had no way to get into work, though I was to report in immediately after the hurricane. No one was prepared for this (not even the Caymanians), they had never experienced a hurricane of such intensity.

It was actually the water surge that raised the ocean 20 feet and sent a 50foot wave over the island.

Anyone who has been here knows how flat this island is, so can imagine how much damage a wave like that would cause. Seven mile beach is no longer part of Cayman. Condo complexes were swept into the sea.

We don't know the number of fatalities but there are numerous people missing. Graveyards in Cayman are usually along the ocean and many of those were destroyed, so bodies, already dead were floating in the sea. It is a site no one would believe without seeing it for one self.

We are now in a state of emergency. As most countries, the looting started the next day and the Camanian government has put marshall law into effect.

There is a 6PM curfew and the police have been advised to shoot to kill all looters. Two Jamaicans were shot and killed this morning for looting.

There is no electricity and running water on the island, oh for a shower! Today is the first day we have had internet and there is no land phones, thank goodness for cell phones but most of the batteries are now dead. I have been working 12 hours with sometimes 4 hours off. We are running out of medical supplies, linens, etc. People are being sent back to the shelters, who shouldn't be. Other countries are now coming to our aid and medical supplies are starting to arrive. They are getting all people off the island, who don't have to be here. I could go on and on but I just wanted to give you an idea what is happening in "once" paradise. My husband and I have been too busy with work to deal with our loss, but after working 2 days, I realize we got off lucky.

Everyone is helping everyone. I now have 3 pair of shorts, 5 tops, 2 pair of shoes and 2 pair of socks to my name. I will be taking tomorrow off to try and see what I can salvage from our condo. Our landlord said he will not be rebuilding as there is too much structural damage, so at the time we are homeless.