|
|
- Updates from the Islands -- - Bermuda - - |
|
|
Satellite images of Fabian over Bermuda: stormcarib.com/fabian
Detailed island-map by Bermudahotels.com
| - I'm back! | |
| |
|
| - Hurricane Juan |
|
|
Title: Message
I am a Geography
teacher in Bermuda and we are currently under the advisory of tropical storm
warning. Juan is some 160 miles south east of us. This morning
around 7 am Atlantic Standard Time, I could see swells on the South Shore that
looked like what was around before Hurricane Isabel passed near us. There
are also large waves breaking over our reefs.
This morning, the
causeway which is still being repaired and closed in the evenings, was only open
for 3 hours. St. George's in inaccessible now. It is being checked
for structural damage from Fabian today. Four people and two cars were
swept out to sea on the causeway. Only one body has been recovered and the
search for the other three ended this week. If conditions worsen due to
Juan, the causeway will reopen to allow people to get back home to
prepare their property for the high winds. There are many rooftops covered
in tarpaulin from Hurricane Fabian and under 100 homes without
electricity. We don't really need another hit!
Right now it is
11:30 am AST and it is cloudy outside the window facing west from my prep
room. It rained earlier today and it's getting windy. Sorry, I have
no instruments in this school to allow more accuracy! Looking east, the
clouds look darker and heavier, so I expect it will rain shortly.
I have just printed
a copy of the picture from www.goes.noaa.gov/browsh2.html I
will pin it up in my classroom.
Hope this is
useful.
Virginia
DeSilva
|
| - getting back to normal |
|
Clean-up efforts are coming along nicely, though there will be work to be done for months after this. I noticed today that two roads in particular are suddenly clear, and it's due to all the hardworking soldiers and various other groups out there helping. Anne, I hope you and your family are all okay. I saw in your last log that you went from St. George's to your father-in-law's home to wait out the storm - I know that St. George's suffered a lot of damage and I just pray that your home was not part of the losses. If you did make it back home, how was crossing the causeway? I am still afraid to travel over it, even though they are telling us it is safe. I think I'd rather take the ferry. Please fill us in when you can! We are concerned and thinking about you! Someone wrote to me and gave me another great source for photos and also another hurricane web-log. Go to www.bermudaonion.com to check them out. That writer had a much more dramatic experience during the storm than I did! I believe I read that cruise ships will once again be returning next week. I'm not sure I'd want to see Bermuda like this, so I hope tourists aren't too disappointed. I just want Bermuda to be at its best for visitors, though I'm sure everyone understands the situation. We're all keeping an eye on Isabel, as our island wouldn't stand a chance against a hurricane so strong especially now that we are hurting already. Hoping Anne and her family are alright and will write soon. |
| - <no subject> |
|
The good news is that our house now has electricity. I feel almost guilty enjoying it, however, as thousands and thousands of homes are still in the dark. And that is absolutely no fun at all. I have heard from family in Virginia that news on our hurricane is skimpy since it did not affect the East Coast. A lot of people are wondering what Bermuda looks like now. At best it is wrecked. Trees are down, roofs have blown away, boats are stuck on rocks, and the beaches now look different because of the erosion. One beach in particular, Horseshoe Bay, is now missing part of its famous cove that was affectionately called "baby beach" due to its calm, shallow waters. There are still thousands of homes without electricity, and our transportation system (buses) is making limited runs. The biggest shock was the damage wrought on our Causeway - the long bridge that connects the eastern side of the island (and the airport) to the rest of Bermuda. Right now it can hold a single line of slow one-way traffic, but it is closed in the case of rain, winds exceeding 30mph, and also at night. The wait to use the Causeway is anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. People are urged to travel it only when completely necessary. They are hoping to have it fixed in one month, when it will (hopefully) return to holding two-way traffic all the time. Some of our well-known landmarks also suffered damage. One example was our beautiful Natural Arches. These were stones that, over the course of time, were naturally eroded away to look like arches. Since they sat on one of our beautiful beaches, they were constantly used as a backdrop for wedding photos and appeared on many postcards. Hurricane Fabian destroyed them. Two hotels specifically suffered a lot of damage and will be closed for at least 6 months - the Sonesta Resort and the Fairmont Southampton Princess. This is such a shame for locals and visitors alike. The Bermuda Regiment and government workers have been working hard in clean up efforts. The Island is already looking better, at least by way of the roads being a little more cleared. I know it will be years before the vegetation looks the way it did before last Friday, but nature has a way of fixing itself. And I know landscapers will be working hard to help the process along. If anyone is interested in seeing photographs that our locals have taken of the damage, visit www.bermynet.com. In the upper left hand corner you will see a section on Fabian. There are 10 or 11 pages of photos you can view. |
| - Safe and sound |
|
Hello everyone, Before I say anything, I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during the storm. It really touched me to know that so many people whom I've never met were so concerned. I can't begin to explain just how much that meant to me. When I arrived at work this morning there were 27 emails in my inbox offering me encouragement. Thank you so very much, everyone. As for the storm, it was frightening but exciting as well. Our home is in a good location so no part of it was damaged. The yard is a different story, but I am thankful that it was just the yard. We had an enormous tree completely uprooted. It now lays on its side on top of what used to be a stone wall. I'm glad it fell that way and not on the house. The storm passed through a bit earlier than expected - around 6 or so. Fortunately I was not alone, thanks to your many prayers. A friend of our family lives in a home overlooking a bay, and he thought it best not to stay there during the storm. So he stayed at our house. The wind sounded just like a freight train blowing against the house. We lost electricity around 1:30 or 2pm. My husband was called in for regiment duty on Friday, but he was able to come back home around noon before the storm hit. I was so glad. The three of us listened to the radio until the station went out (after the storm was in full force) then played Scrabble and Monopoly by candlelight while we listened to the wind. My husband left again on Saturday morning to help with the island clean up. Saturday's weather was beautiful - you wouldn't have believed it was so different than 24 hours previous. It was warm and sunny, with blue skies and big fluffy white clouds. Everyone was outside tending to their yards, and though it was disheartening to see all the damage, everyone was generally in good spirits. The Bermuda regiment is embodied a minimum of one week, as far as they tell us. They spent all of Saturday cutting down trees and yesterday they were sent all over the island to help with various tasks. My husband's group worked to restore damage to the hospital. This week the regiment will be working on the government schools that need help (gov't schools are closed all week). My house (and so many others) is still without electricity. I've never been happier to come to work, where there are lights, air conditioning and running water. I am hoping our lights may come on sometime today, as some areas around us have power. The radio was back up and running on Saturday, and I've been listening to it since then (it's great company). People who were in need of essential items such as food and water would call the station and request help. It was amazing to see just how quickly Bermuda answered pleas for help like that. The radio DJ would give the name of an elderly person who needed water, for example, and less than 10 minutes later he would come back on the air to say that person's needs were answered. It was amazing to see this Island come together like that. The DJ followed up by playing the song, "Bermuda is Another World" and it honestly almost brought me to tears. Driving to work today was when it really hit me - the island looks so different because of all the trees blown this way and that. You can see certain buildings that you couldn't before because of the trees that used to hide it. Beautiful trees and plants and flowers are all just gone, vanished, taken away by the wind. I saw big palm trees in pieces on the side of the road, and buildings on the harbour in Hamilton missing whole walls and big chunks of their roofs. The saddest thing I saw was when I passed the Bermuda National Trust, where there were several enormous cedar trees completely knocked down or broken in half (the Bermuda Cedar is a very important part of Bermuda's heritage and great efforts are taken to preserve the Cedar). Those trees were very old and it's just such a shame. One of the most significant things that happened was severe damage of the Causeway - the long bridge that connects the eastern end of the island to the rest of Bermuda. It is still impassible as far as I know. Everyone out in St. George's and St. David's is stranded because of this. The airport is still closed but looks to open soon - perhaps tomorrow. You may have also heard of the fatalities that occurred during the storm - I don't think Bermuda has had any deaths due to a hurricane in a very, very long time. Originally I heard that there were 4 people unaccounted for, and today's newspaper says that the first body was recovered - they were policemen. Thanks again for all your encouragement and prayers during this terrible storm. It meant so much to us. Your concern was overwhelming. If I learn of anything else I will write again. Thanks again, Terri |
| - Fabian has almost arrived |
|
9:55am - The weather is terrible. We closed the storm shutters last night (fortunately), just in time for the big winds this morning. My husband had to leave for the Regiment Camp, and I know he'll have to stay there for the next few days because there's no way he could possibly go out again in this weather. Right now the winds are at tropical force, and they are so powerful that it's hard to believe they still have a lot more to increase. The rain is blowing almost sideways at times, hitting my front door and windows. I can't imagine what the ocean must look like right now. Fabian is now going to be a direct hit - the biggest storm Bermuda has seen. It will hit us this evening, but we'll be experiencing all the scary side effects all day today and tomorrow, too. They say high winds, torrential rain, possible flooding and tornadoes. I hope it's not as bad as that. I will check in again if possible, though my electricity has already flickered. Terri _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 |
| - Probably my last post for a while | |
| |
|
| - Update | |
| |
|
| - afternoon update |
|
Today at work we were all given time to make trips to grocery stores and stock up on food, water, candles, flashlights, batteries, etc. Fabian is moving fast and will arrive sooner than we expected tomorrow, with winds reaching hurricane force by early afternoon. My husband and I spent some time today bringing in outdoor potted plants and the BBQ, and tonight we will have to secure our motorbikes and fill up the bathtub and sinks with water. My husband is in the Bermuda Regiment, and he is afraid he'll be called in today to stay on the base through the hurricane and until the Island is cleaned up afterward. I really did not want to be separated during the storm but it looks like there is no choice. The wind is picking up, and though it is still sunny and warm outside, it feels a bit eerie knowing that such a powerful storm is on its way here in about 24 hours. A hurricane warning has officially been issued for Bermuda. A time like this has really made me think; can you imagine a time before modern weather forecasting? Take today for example - right now it is windy but sunny and warm and an otherwise nice day. Without modern forecasting techniques we would have absolutely no idea that an enormous storm was going to pass almost directly over us tomorrow. A person would be caught completely off guard with no chance to prepare. I am so thankful for meteorologists and forecasters who work to give us fair warning about something so dangerous. Will update again tonight, if possible. Terri |
| - It's the big one! |
|
Well it looks like Fabian is a much bigger problem than we all thought. First we anticipated the storm being 200 miles away, then 60 miles away, and now they are telling us that it will be an almost direct hit at just 15 little miles off Bermuda. The mood is a mixture of excitement and fear - according to the Royal Gazette, our government has warned that this could be the worst hurricane ever to hit the Island. Fabian is due to hit tomorrow night, and you can be sure our weather is steadily getting worse. Right now it's sunny with a small wind, but later we expect rain and increasing winds. I work for a newspaper, the Bermuda Sun, and everyone is hoping we can get the paper finished, printed and distributed before possible (and highly likely) power outages. Fabian will pass at roughly 10pm local time on Friday. You can bet we will be snug in our little house with the hurricane shutters closed, probably in candlelight! Will update more as possible. I am hoping we are not out of power for long, if we do lose power at all (judging from Bermuda's history with big storms, I'm counting on being without electricity for longer than I'd like). I will write logs when possible. Here we go! Terri |
| - Get Ready! | |
| |
|
| - More on Fabian | |
| |
|
| - Hurricane Fabian |
|
7:51pm, Hamilton Bermuda. Bermuda braces for the arrival of Hurrican Fabian on Friday, September 4th. It is not certain at this point if the eye will cross Bermuda but authorities are taking no chances. As of this evening, neither are residents. Hurricane supplies, such as batteries and the like, are already being snapped up. A hurricane watch could be issued as early as Thursday morning. Cordell W. Riley |
| - Fabian |
|
We're told to buy batteries and extra food. The top of Town Hill is lookin' pretty good! J- |
| - Hurricane Fabian |
|
As Fabian moves closer it is the talk of the entire Island. It's in the papers and on the news. Bermuda is warned to prepare for possibly dangerous weather on Friday. We are already feeling the effects of the storm as we are suffering from dangerous riptide on our South Shore beaches. One of our popular beaches, Horseshoe Bay, is the perfect example. Two swimmers had to be rescued after being carried out too far by the strong waters. Swimmers are warned not to go in the water in several locations. |
| - Fabian brushing by later this week? | |
| |
|
| Back to top |