Here's a thread for reporting on the effects of Hurricane Dean on the Cayman Islands.
Dean is expected to slam Jamaica today, and then move on to the Cayman Islands tomorrow as a strong Category 4 or perhaps even a CAT 5. A direct his for BOTH Jamaica and Grand Cayman is not outside the realm of possibility.
. . .the low-lying Cayman Islands were expected to take a direct hit on Monday. Tourists there jammed Owens International Airport in snaking lines that stretched outside onto a lawn. A police officer with a bullhorn kept order.
Cayman Airways added 15 flights to Florida from the wealthy British territory, and they were quickly sold out.
The government ordered a mandatory evacuation by noon Sunday of Little Cayman, which is the smallest of the territory's three islands and has a population of about 150.
Title: Winds are picking upThe winds have started to pick up already in Grand Cayman (South Sound area at least). Trying to get the last few things done (securing boat etc). I think we may start experiencing tropical storm force winds within the next few hours. It is 180 miles between Jamaica and Grand Cayman. That gives us approximately 7-8 hours once the eye has passed the west of Jamaica.
Will post another update once I have got everything done. Also, I plan on taking some pictures a little later and will post them on StormCarib.
Tara
From another board . . . posted this morning by a resident of the Caymans:
- West Bay update
From: "M. Whiteman" <mmajsw at candw.ky>
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 05:28:14 -0500
Good morning All;
Was woken up this morning at 5am by continuous thunder. Though the roof was going and the hurricane force winds were here with all the rumbling!
Thankfully the power and telephone are still one.
Current weather is 0.5" rain, winds at about 20 gusting to mid 30s and coming from the NE to SE. Variation is probably because the weather station is much lower than normal. Only about 25' above the ground. It's cool at 75F but that's Ok in case the electricity goes off.
I heard a storm band come through around 3:30am or so. Dean is here!
Will try to get some pictures at daylight.
Thankfully, The Caymans did NOT get the expected hard hit from Dean, as the hurricane passed to the south of the islands.
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:53:30 -0500
Title: All Clear issued for Grand Cayman
NATIONAL SITUATION REPORT
4:30 pm Monday 20 August 2007
Grand Cayman continues to experience tropical storm force winds but the weather outlook continues to be promising. As a result, the Government issued the all-clear at 4:30 pm today.
This follows in the wake of the lifting of the all-island curfew for Grand Cayman at 2 pm today, both events an expeditious resolution to a dramatic three days that ranged from fears of a Category Five direct hit to the maximum impact of gusts of 64 mph recorded around 8.30 am this morning. In addition, there has been minimal rainfall and no weather-related injuries.
We are delighted to inform you that the Owen Roberts International Airport re-opened today, Tuesday, August 21st at 7am and at the same time visitors will be allowed to resume travel to the Cayman Islands.
For visitors who plan to stay in a hotel, condo or villa, we are asking them to please contact the property directly to confirm they are open and operating.
For ease of reference below please find the posted change policies from our airline partners:
On behalf of the CI Government, the Department of Tourism would like to thank all its travel partners and their staff for the incredible work done over the past several days. Your commitment and dedication to our guests and country is greatly appreciated.
We the people of the Cayman Islands are blessed as things could have been much worse. Our prayers go out to the people of Mexico who now are dealing with the effects of Hurricane Dean.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your Cayman Islands Department of Tourism Representative.
Thank you SO much for that news, Dolores!
Sounds like NORMAL stuff going on among all the anguish than has spread across the caribbean over the last week, and that's a GOOD thing indeed!
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