Thread: Damage Reports - Hurricane tomas - St Lucia

St Lucia was lashed with tirrential rains and 90-100 mph winds for at least 10 hours, as the northern eyewall of Hurricane Tomas struck the island paradise.

Reports are still only trickling in, as the storm took out all power island-wide, land lines are down, and cell coverage is spotty at best. Along with that, neither of the radio stations are able to operate.

Confirmed news is a little hard to come by, but the following posts will contain some of what we have heard, in a mix of confirmed and unconfirmed reports

No power

Widespread flooding

Many roofs gone, includling those on churches, schools, and hospitals

UNCONFIRMED reports of fatalities (number unknown, reportsd vary weidely) with (sagain unconfirmed) reports fo some bodies being found in collapsed structures

Airport unable to operate
Washouts in main paved roads, reports of collapsed bridges, and access to one main city being cut off.

Needless to say, much debris in roadways and elsewhere, wiith many trees and power lines down.

Mud "all over the place" and gasoline is unavailable.

That's sad and it's difficult to get reports.

Hate to say this ... but bet there is widespread "looting" going on. Their unemployment is about 40% according to the manager of a resort we visited.

Tomas-kills-12-in-St-Lucia
Hurricane Tomas kills 12 in St Lucia
Death toll could climb
CMC
Monday, November 01, 2010


CASTRIES, St Lucia – At least 12 people were confirmed dead and several communities across the St Lucia remained cut off today following widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Tomas over the weekend.

Government said that the damage caused by the storm could surpass US$100 million.

This car fell into a crater created by storm waters associated with Tropical storm Tomas in St Lucia. (Photo: CMC)
This car fell into a crater created by storm waters associated with Tropical storm Tomas in St Lucia. (Photo: CMC) 1/1

The southern town of Vieux-Fort was among the worst hit by the Category One storm, while five bodies including those of the owners of a popular craft shop in Soufriere, recovered from the wreckage of their homes that were hit by landslides.

“I would say to you right now we have 12 confirmed dead…unfortunately there are still people who are buried….,” Tourism Minister Allan Chastanet said on local radio.

He said that the roads to the town, where the famous Piton Mountains and the world’s only drive in volcano are located, are impassable and that the death toll could rise further.

Prime Minister Stephenson King had earlier said that an American visitor whose named was not disclosed, drowned on a north east coast beach while a 31 year-old woman died after her vehicle ran off the road and fell down a precipice.

King said he had taken an aerial survey of the storm damage and it is clear that there had been extensive damage.

“From the air, the southern town of Vieux Fort appeared to have received the brunt of Tomas’s fury and we will have to go into this area which was still blocked by landslides and virtually inaccessible to carry out a more detailed account of the damage,” he added.

Prime Minister King said that there were other persons missing from the town and that search and rescue teams were in the affected area.

“Soufriere is devastated, everyone is locked in and no one can leave or get in by road or by phone, so that there are persons who need help but cannot be reached,” the Prime Minister noted.

“It’s not just a question of clearing these roads because there are sections of the network that have completely disappeared so that we are just going to have to find another way in and out of the town,“ he said.

King said that a preliminary assessment of the damage caused by Tomas suggested that it was likely to cost the country in excess of US$100 million.

He said he had already contacted the United States government and Work Bank which had requested that measures be put in place to sources the emergency funding.

That's terrible! Those folks live in such poverty and to have what little they have destroyed must weigh heavily on the minds and spirits of those island people. Our prayers go out to all the islands that have been hit by this storm.

From a posting by a resident of St Lucia on StormCarib...

Power has been restored to Soufriere town, well done to Lucelec, the local electricity company 90% of the island now has power.

Appeals are going out for food, clothing and diapers, lots of private boats with donations are heading down to Soufriere with these supplies. It seems the international community is finally waking up to what has happened here, I was pleased to see that CNN spoke about it last night.


The water emergency has been declared as the dam has still not been accessed but Lucelec and Wasco ( the water company) have assessed the situation by helicopter and will begin work as soon as they can get there via road. People are being asked to be conservative with their water consumption and there has even been talk of shipping in water from Dominica. My local shop has run out of bottled water but they assure me that supplies will be available today.


Airports are open and things are slowly beginning to get better, the North of the Island particularly is running OK, its the South that has the brunt of the problems.


I cant say how much I have been impressed with the general public here, everyone regardless of race or status are pulling together with the aim of getting back to normal. It will be a long process but we will get there!


Have a good day - Sue

Tomas the second most damaging hurricane in St. Lucia history
Prime Minister Stephenson King announced yesterday that damage on the island of St.Lucia was $185 million--five times higher than earlier estimates. This sum is 19% of St. Lucia's GDP, and is the second most expensive hurricane ever for the island. Tomas damaged 10,000 homes and killed 14 people during its rampage over the island last Saturday. St. Lucia received the full brunt of the northern eyewall of Tomas as it intensified, and the St. Lucia weather service reported that sustained winds of 90 - 95 mph affected the island. Power has been restored to 90% of the island and most of the tourist facilities have reopened, however.

Tomas is the strongest hurricane to affect St. Lucia since Category 1 Hurricane Dean of 2007 brought 90 mph winds to the island. Dean killed one person and did $6.4 million in damage--0.5% of the nation's GDP. The island's strongest hurricane since accurate records began in 1851 was Hurricane Allen of 1980, which struck as a Category 3 hurricane with 130 mph winds. Allen killed 18 people on St.Lucia, and caused catastrophic damage of $235 million dollars ($613 million 2010 dollars.) This was 177% of the nation's GDP that year. The deadliest hurricane in St. Lucia history was the Category 5 Great Hurricane of 1780, which killed approximately 700 people. The Great Hurricane of 1780 was the Atlantic's deadliest hurricane of all-time, with 22,000 fatalities, mostly in the Lesser Antilles Islands.


Figure 3. Damage on St. Lucia from Hurricane Tomas. Image credit: St. Lucia Star.



FROM: Wunder Blog : Weather Underground

St. Lucia was one of the 2 ports that I’d been particularly looking forward to when we sailed on the Noordam last month, and I was very much saddened to see the devastation and death brought by Hurricane Tomas just a week before our scheduled arrival. We’d had a very friendly email discussion with the tour guide we had booked, but Spencer lives in the hardest-hit area and couldn’t get to us. He’d arranged an alternate tour, but much of the island was still inacessible when we arrived. Our ship and the P&O Oceana were the first ships to be allowed back into port, and the Noordam had brought a substantial stock of disaster relief supplies for the island. You can see my photojournal of that day at The ExploreNorth Blog » Exploring St. Lucia

Murray