Cayman Islands devastated by Hurricane Ivan

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

MIAMI, USA (AFP): Hurricane Ivan's passage through the Cayman Islands wrought "devastation beyond imagination" destroying buildings, ripping off roofs and flooding streets, local media reported Monday.

Officials confirmed there was widespread damage but said there were no immediate reports of casualties.

"The winds ripped the apartments like matchsticks, the whole island has taken a battering. Cars and trucks were floating away like toys," one reporter told Citadel Radio from Grand Cayman.
She said the storm had battered the island for more than eight hours on Sunday.

"It's a mess," said Patricia Evans of the National Hurricane Committee, reached by telephone from Miami.

"The early morning scene has been described as 'devastation beyond imagination'," the online Cayman Net News paper reported.

On Grand Cayman, Mariners Cove, an apartment building was blown across the road, it said, adding that extensive damage was also reported at Ocean Club, another apartment complex in the same area.

"Just about every house on the island has lost part or all of its roof, in some cases the debris landing on the roofs of adjacent buildings," the online newspaper said.

"Some homes have been completely gutted by the wind and floodwater, with entire contents being swept across the streets," it said.

The government said in a statement that "there has been extensive water damage to a number of buildings, but the vast majority remain structurally sound."

Power lines were knocked down and cell phone networks were out of service, the statement said.

The captain of Britain's HMS Richmond frigate, which was anchored offshore, was preparing the ship's helicopter to survey damages inflicted by the hurricane, it said.

"The government is working to ensure continuity in the islands' financial services industry and will aim for the tourism sector to be back in business as soon as possible," the statement said.

Known as a banking haven, the Cayman Islands are also a popular tourist destination, particularly for scuba divers.

"The Cayman Islands has picked itself up from hurricanes in the past. There is a tremendous team spirit here, and we are working together to rebuild and regroup. We are absolutely determined to be back in business extremely quickly." Cabinet Secretary, Orrett Connor said Monday.

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