- Updates from the Islands -

- - Cayman Islands - -

• From: terrafutan AT CandW.ky
• Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:27:27 -0500

Thought you all might be interested in this...

Relaxation Of Air Travel Restrictions To Grand Cayman

While the Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman have been welcoming
tourists since mid-September, the Hon. McKeeva Bush, Leader of Government
Business and Minister of Tourism, announced that travel restrictions to Grand
Cayman will be lifted effective 20th November 2004.

Prior to making this decision representatives of the Ministry of Tourism met
with various public sector agencies e.g. the Immigration Department, Civil
Aviation Authority and Cayman Airways as well a number of private sector
entities in Grand Cayman, including the Cayman Islands Tourism Association,
the larger hotel properties, retailers, transportation providers and
watersports operators. The Ministry and Department of Tourism toured
properties which have been inspected and have room stock available for guests,
plus visited those restaurants and attractions which have advised the
Department of Tourism that they are now open for business.

The Honourable Minister, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Tim Hubbell and
representatives from the Department of Tourism were among those who toured the
properties which are ready to open. ?It was important for us to visit the
properties which are ready to receive guests,? said the Hon. Minister, ?so
that we could see for ourselves what our guests will experience when they
return. We look forward to welcoming our visitors back to Grand Cayman at a
time of year which is particularly significant for so many of them -- US
Thanksgiving ? and this year we will join them in giving thanks for a great
many things.?

The Department of Tourism confirmed that, as Grand Cayman prepares to welcome
guests back, there are 529 rooms available in inventory for sale. All rooms
made available for visitors, will have passed a rigorous inspection process
and additional rooms will be inspected prior to coming online. Our world
renowned diving, snorkelling and white sand beaches are pristine; a number of
major attractions, including the Turtle Farm, Stingray City, and George Town?s
historic and shopping district ? are all waiting to welcome guests back when
they arrive. Long known for its culinary establishments, the Ministry
confirmed that more than 75 restaurants are currently open for business. 

Guests visiting the Cayman Islands are advised to travel with return tickets,
or receipts for return e-tickets plus confirmation of their accommodation
arrangements. Those who are visiting friends and family should ensure they
have the names and street address of their hosts. The possession of this
information will allow Immigration and Tourism officials to assist guests,
when necessary, with any communications or transportation issues which may
arise at the airport. 

?I will reiterate something I said when we announced the resumption of cruise
tourism,? said the Hon. Minister, ?Tourism accounts for 45% of the Cayman
Islands GDP. It is critical that tourism resumes quickly, and in an orderly
manner, so that it can once again provide an income for the many people who
depend on this industry for their living. People are hurting ? both
financially and emotionally ? and they need the income they can earn from
working in tourism to bring a level of ?normalcy? back to their everyday
lives.? 

In conclusion, Mr. Bush noted ?One thing is clear ? over the past two months
the people of the Cayman Islands demonstrated remarkable resilience, community
spirit and optimism. At the end of the day, these once in a lifetime
experiences remind us what is truly most important in life ? our family and
our friends. The Cayman Islands have been blessed with strong families and
loyal friends both at home and overseas. Their outpouring of assistance and
support have helped to carry us through what was a particularly difficult time
and we now find ourselves renewed and inspired to showcase the best of
Caymanian warmth and hospitality.  To friends and family, we say ?Welcome
Back?.
_______________________________________________________________
This mail sent using CandW.ky Webmail - http://webmail.candw.ky

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 12:03:00 -0400 (EDT)

Grand Cayman's Road to Recovery

Press statement by the Council of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

18th October 2004


The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce is working in partnership with the 
Cayman Islands Government, the Cayman Islands Recovery Committee, Chamber 
members, the local and international media, the wider private sector, industry 
associations and community organizations in the post Hurricane Ivan recovery 
effort. Each day that passes visible progress is being achieved on Grand 
Cayman's road to recovery. These recovery efforts are noticeable as residents 
return to their homes, schools reopen, infrastructural services are restored 
and businesses become operational.

This achievement in just over one month since the passing of a Category 5 
hurricane is a clear testament to the hard work, resiliency, dedication and 
personal sacrifice by Caymanians, local residents, relief workers, the National 
Hurricane Committee, Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd., the Water Authority, the 
Cayman Water Company and telecommunications companies, AT&T, Cable & Wireless 
and Digicel, the Public Works Department, heavy equipment operators, shelter 
workers, Churches, George Town Hospital staff and Police, Fire, Customs, 
Planning and Immigration officials and business owners. Each of these groups 
and individuals continue to be instrumental in the recovery effort, but we must 
all realize that a great deal of work remains in order to restore Grand Cayman 
to its pre-Ivan condition.

The Council and staff of the Chamber of Commerce are committed to quickening 
the pace of the recovery and support the Cabinet's two main initial priorities. 
These are:

   Debris Removal
   Accommodation

Tremendous progress has been made to remove debris from central George Town and 
along West Bay Road, but further work and cooperation is necessary in many 
other areas of Grand Cayman if we are to reach a position of being able to 
welcome cruise ship visitors to our island home by early November. Property 
owners along the West Bay Road corridor and areas near some of the attractions 
leading to West Bay in particular are urged to take the personal initiative to 
clear your properties of debris. Debris collection routes are being developed 
by the Cayman Islands Recovery Committee and will be communicated through 
regular media announcements.

Securing temporary housing accommodations is an essential component for the 
recovery. As of 18th October, the Chamber of Commerce has completed 
negotiations to facilitate the charter of a cruise ship with accommodations for 
1,020 persons. It must be stressed that these accommodations are temporary for 
a maximum period of five months and is not intended to provide a long term 
remedy to the shortage of land-based accommodations. It is hoped that the 
cruise accommodations will provide residents and the business community with an 
immediate available option to allow hotels, condominiums and private 
residential homes and apartment complexes the time to activate plans to repair 
as many units as possible. It should also be stressed that the Chamber of 
Commerce has become involved in the process of negotiating the charter of a 
cruise ship on condition that the rental cost for the berths will be affordable 
for all residents. The Chamber of Commerce is not profiting in any way by makin!
 g these
 arrangements. The ship will be serviced entirely through local companies thus 
keeping money circulating in the Cayman Islands economy. The proposal for the 
charter will be presented to the Cayman Islands Government for review and 
comment this week. If the proposal is accepted, the cruise ship will be 
available for rental accommodations in Grand Cayman in November.

The Council of the Chamber of Commerce is dismayed by the reports of 
disproportionate pricing for temporary accommodations in the aftermath of 
Hurricane Ivan. These predatory pricing practices are detestable and 
reprehensible. We are hopeful that these practices are an anomaly and will be 
discontinued immediately. The real estate sector has self-policed itself for 
many successful years. It would be unfortunate for the economy on a whole to 
suffer the consequences of potential legislative action because of a few greedy 
persons who are seeking to profit from the vulnerability of others in need. We 
call upon persons who believe that they have been treated unfairly by landlords 
and property owners to visit the Chamber of Commerce office, second floor, 
Macdonald Square, next to the Town Hall in George Town. Complaint forms are 
available for completion and each will be investigated by the Chamber's Better 
Business Council.

For the past three weeks, the Chamber Staff has attempted to contact all 597 
corporate members to confirm the state of each member business. Of the 284 
businesses contacted successfully by phone as of 18th October, 78% reported 
that they were open for business with the highest percentages reported in the 
financial services sector (88%), merchants (80%) and construction sector (94%). 
A comprehensive list of businesses that are open will be completed this week 
and will be available on the Chamber's website and distributed to the public. 
Shortly after the storm, an employment register was established to assist the 
community and to enable Chamber members and other businesses to secure 
temporary workers if required. To date, more than 800 persons have registered 
and the Chamber staff continues to assist with the placement of workers.

The Chamber also worked closely with the Planning Department immediately 
following the storm. The Planning Department based its temporary operations in 
the Chamber office. A register of contractors, architects, engineers, 
electricians, plumbers and insurance adjustors has been established. These 
lists are available on the Chamber of Commerce website at www.caymanchamber.ky. 
A special section has been posted on the home page entitled Grand Cayman's 
Recovery which includes important information and useful forms and lists to 
assist members and the public.

In closing, Chamber President Mr. Joseph Hew and the Council will be meeting 
weekly to identify the main priorities for the private sector to share with the 
Cayman Islands Recovery Committee. The Council of Associations, a Chamber 
subcommittee representing all industry associations chaired by President-Elect 
Mr. Morgan DaCosta, is meeting every two weeks to assess the conditions of the 
various industry sectors and to communicate immediate and long term priorities. 
We are confident that working together the Cayman Islands will realize a 
complete recovery from the devastating effects of Hurricane Ivan.



-end-

• From: "Cayman Activity Guide" <editor AT caymanactivityguide.com>
• Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 00:42:28 -0700

• From: "Cayman Activity Guide" <editor AT caymanactivityguide.com>
• Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 16:23:30 -0700

Saturday, September 11th. with everything all battened down we went to bed
around midnight. We awoke about 6:00am when our cat jumped up on top of us
and we noticed that his paws were wet. We got out of bed and there was about
an inch of water on the floor. At that point the winds were blowing about
120mph with gusts over 150. The water outside had risen to about three
inches above the base of our doors. We gathered towels and magazines and
stuffed them under the doors and weighted them down with anything we could
find - tiles, boards, furniture, etc. to help keep the water from coming in
any faster. During the course of the next few hours the winds increased as
the water continued to rise outside, reaching over four feet above floor
level; almost up to the door knobs. Fortunately, we had recently replaced
the weather stripping in all of our doors so they were fairly water-tight.
Leaks would spring up occasionally in between the doors and hinges and at
the base of some of the windows, so we plugged them with pieces of
cardboard, shims, washers, etc. to slow the flow of water coming in. One of
our electrical sockets sprung a leak so we put a quick duct tape patch over
that. We never anticipated this much water; we had even talked about getting
sand bags, but didn't because our house is 8 feet above sea level and they
anticipated the storm surge to be only 6-8 feet. We thought we were going to
be high and dry. WRONG!

We used various containers to bail water from the floor into the kitchen
sinks. There was nowhere else to pour the water because the sea had rose
higher than the bathtub and toilets, causing the water to flow out from
there as well. With everyone's septic tanks flooded the water coming in
consisted of raw sewage mixed with sea water - really nasty stuff!

By about 9:00am the storm reached its peak with maximum sustained winds in
excess of 165mph and gusts over 208mph! The outside sea water continued to
ebb and flow between about 1 - 5 feet above floor level, so we just kept
bailing and stuffing holes and managed to keep the water level inside our
house to no more than 3 - 4".

Our roof vent and about 1/3 of our shingles blew off around 10:00am as winds
continued at 165mph with much higher gusts, so everything upstairs was
blowing around furiously as water began to leak in from the ceiling near the
kitchen and other rooms towards the front of the house. Luckily we were too
busy dealing with the water to be frightened by the extreme wind force. The
cats were great throughout the entire ordeal, jumping from couch to chair to
table, trying not to get their little paws wet. We had a ladder set up to
the attic in case the doors gave way. At that point we really had no idea
exactly how high the water level could rise. If the doors blew, our escape
plan was to put the cats in the box and take them up to the attic - sit
there and hope the roof held out. We are incredibly thankful that it never
came down to that.

Finally, by about noon, the winds started to decrease and the water
subsided. By 2:00pm the winds were down to about 100mph so we opened the
back door and most of the water from inside the house flowed out. The
strange thing was the water level outside receded so quickly; within an hour
it was as if it never flooded at all. In fact, the water level actually
recessed several feet below normal sea level for a period of a few hours
before slowly returning to its normal level.

Our pool chlorine (which is about 70 times stronger than standard bottled
bleach) stayed dry, so we mixed that with rain water in buckets and spent
most of the rest of the day cleaning all the filth out of the house and back
porch. Luckily, neither one of us has gotten deathly ill from this stuff! By
nightfall, we had the inside of the house pretty much cleaned up and took a
walk around the house to see the damage.

Fallen trees, leaves, debris - everywhere. 2/3 of our shingles were gone and
blown all over our property and in the pool. Our car had been completely
underwater and everything was washed out of the garage and mixed in with
debris everywhere.

Our pool was overflowing with that nasty mix of sea and sewer water and
about 2 feet of debris on the bottom. No power; no phones; no water; and the
only thing on the radio was that same old loop that had been recorded before
the storm advising people to stay indoors - duh!

Monday morning up at 6am and the radio still offered no new information,
just that same loop playing over and over again from before the storm. Winds
were still blowing around 40mph and light rain. We donned rain coats and
took a walk around the neighborhood.

The first thing we saw was a boat that came from the nearby canal and landed
in the front yard of one of our neighbors. About 1/2 the power lines were
down in our area, roads all filled with debris, telephone poles and wires
down, stop signs and lights down, etc.; people sweeping water out of their
houses and very few cars working due to water damage. Luckily, no deaths
were reported and all of our friends and neighbors were accounted for.

The clean up of our house continued for days; luckily we had saved lots of 5
gallon buckets so we were able to collect rain water and scour the house
many times. Our pool chlorine was a real life saver! The rain also provided
us with much needed showers - this gave our neighbors quite a little treat!

We went up on the roof and nailed down tarps with the damaged floor boards
we removed from our bedroom to minimize further water damage. We managed to
save at least 90% of our landscaping, and with all the frequent brief rain
showers we have been getting nearly every afternoon it is amazing how
quickly most of our trees and plants have started to grow new leaves.

By Friday, the house was finally clean and disinfected and most of the
debris out of the pool. We found a mechanic to fix our car, but had to buy
another car for parts since no businesses had opened yet except one grocery
store and a single gas station. Our first visit to the grocery store
resulted in a 1 1/2 hour wait in line and a limit of 1 gallon of water and 1
loaf of bread; the rest of the canned foods were limitless - they stocked up
really well on Spam! We cooked on our propane grill with water we had stock
piled so we were in pretty good shape. The radio finally started to provide
us with updated local information, but were not made aware of how much
information had been disseminated to the outside world.

Our next priority was to clean out the pool since it was fast becoming a
stagnating cesspool. We bought more chlorine and rigged up a double bucket
filtering system using a bilge pump, sand, plastic hoses and the battery
from our newly working car. We ran the car for two days straight charging
our cell phones and spare battery to run the pump to get some of the gunk
filtered out of the pool.

We caught a staff infection. The doctor put us both on preventative
antibiotics for whatever diseases were are being exposed to. Fortunately,
neither of us had any intestinal problems - particularly since it took 14
days to get running water! We used pool water to flush toilets and boiled
rain water with bleach to wash dishes for cleaning. We ran short of water
around the fourth day, then realized that we had 50 gallons of fresh
drinking water stored in our hot water heater. Problem solved. After all of
this, at least we can say that come what may, we can probably survive almost
anything nature throws at us!

We took our first drive around the island one week after the hurricane, as
officials were telling everyone to stay off the roads to facilitate
emergency vehicles in their endeavors to clean up the debris. We are still
under Marshal Law with a 10:00pm curfew, raised from 6pm a few days ago.
Many homes were blown completely off their foundation and onto the main
roads to and from George Town and throughout the island, so there was a lot
of bulldozing going on.

So many homes were destroyed, often down to the foundation that we consider
ourselves extremely fortunate to have saved our house with what little
damage it did incur. Nearly all the leaves are blown off all of the trees
and plants throughout the entire island and about half of the trees are
completely blown down. The winds came predominately from the east and north,
so most of the trees are bent over at a 90o angle facing south west.

As of today, October 8th. we are still without power. Priority has been
given to the downtown area, financial sector and essential services which
are all pretty much all up and running. With help imported from Canada, UK,
America and other Caribbean islands, CUC (Caribbean Utilities Company) is
working feverishly to restore power island-wide as quickly as possible, and
will likely take another several weeks.

There are no longer any lines at gas stations, supermarkets, stores, etc.
All essential goods are readily available, with the exception of roofing
materials which are in short supply.

The Tourism department is working closely with individual businesses to see
when they will be prepared to open for tourism. The best estimates now
indicate a target date of early November for cruise ship passengers, and
overnight visitors later that month or the beginning of December.

This has been quite the ordeal and not anything we would ever like to go
through again!

Many of million dollar+ homes  along the South coast of the island 
were completely destroyed as the eye of the storm passed south of us 
about 30 miles to the west. The stores
luckily suffered only minor damage so it looks like Peggy will be returning
to work as soon as the cruise ships return to Cayman. This could be as early
as 2 weeks if all goes according to government's plan. Meanwhile, we are
continuing to fix and clean as much as possible until major construction can
start on our house once the appraisers give us the go ahead to start work.
The work will include: complete new exterior paint job, new roof, new
fences, new ceilings in a couple rooms, new doors, new flooring in the
master bedroom, several new windows, new pool deck and pumps, and a few
appliances which have yet to be determined, and a few other minor to
moderate jobs. The good news is, much of these repairs will be made in areas
that were already due for improvement so at the end of the day, we'll have a
brand new house. All those insurance premiums are actually going to pay off!

Thursday our 5kw gas generator arrived from Miami courtesy of Joe's friend
at our printer. Government had been confiscating many emergency supplies to
be used in public shelters as many people are without homes. They also
prioritized the goods being sent, so it took almost a week to get here. Once
we got it fired up our lives took a drastic turn for the better. It's
amazing what a few kilowatts can do to improve your quality of life! We are
able to run both of our refrigerators, 3 fans, the computer, the TV and
surround sound system, and a couple lights, so life is good! Our phone line
was connected today and water was connected yesterday, so we are making one
small step at a time. Our immediate plan is to start work on the house and
hope power will be restored within a few weeks. In the meantime, all we're
really missing is air conditioning which we really can't afford now anyway
since neither one of us is currently employed!

Our business is pretty non-existent temporarily as businesses start the slow
and painstaking process of rebuilding. Everyone's hope is to be up and
running by Christmas as that is the money making time of year for the island
and hopefully we will be doing the same. Meanwhile, we will be doing a lot
of the work on our house ourselves and making a little money off the
insurance company. That is, if they ever get out and take a look at how much
money we saved them!

Many thanks for your well wishes. We've heard you were all thinking of us
and appreciate your concern. This has been quite the experience and
something that we would certainly tell our grandkids if we had any! It is
also something that neither of us have any desire to experience again!

Cheers!

Joe and Peg




Sincerely,
Activart, Ltd.

Joe Stebbins
Editor
Cayman Activity Guide
Cayman Activity Guide Online
Tel: 345-947-1845

130mph winds.jpg

Back porch during storm flooded-small.jpg

Island Damage9-small.jpg

Island Damage11-small.jpg

Peggy - Boat-small.jpg

Pool - during storm1-small.jpg

Tree Damage-small.jpg

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Mon, 4 Oct 2004 17:21:37 -0400 (EDT)

Website: http://www.caymanfamilies.com (registration required)

From:  "bubbacayman"
Date:  Sun Oct 3, 2004  10:01 pm
Subject:  DATABASE FOR HOUSING TO RENT OR FOR RENT


ADVERTISEMENT



I HAVE PUT A DATABASE UP FOR EVERYONE TO USE TO FIND OR SUPPLY
HOUSING ON GRAND CAYMAN. THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE OR WILL
SOON BE SEEKING NEW PLACES TO LIVE AND WE WANT TO USE THIS DATABASE
AS A CENTRAL CONTACT POINT.

IF YOU OWN OR OTHERWISE HAVE PLACES TO RENT OR SELL ON GRAND CAYMAN
PLEASE ENTER YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION INTO THIS DATABASE.

IF YOU NEED TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE ON GRAND CAYMAN, ENTER YOUR
CONTACT INFORMATION SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE OWNERS CONTACT YOU.

IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON GRAND CAYMAN AND IN THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS
AND WISH TO PLACE YOUR INFORMATION ON THE DATABASE FEEL FREE TO DO
SO.

• From: "Joyce Cantlay" <joymar AT candw.ky>
• Date: Sun, 3 Oct 2004 19:04:00 -0500

• From: "Bob Love" <blove AT candw.ky>
• Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 11:06:37 -0600

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 12:54:28 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 10:47:42 -0600
From: Bob Love <blove_AT_candw.ky>

Gert,

I took a cleaning break yesterday and went over to Governor's Beach on
our world famous Seven Mile Beach and was amazed at what I saw.  The
beach was nearly all cleaned up!  It's still all there and looks vibrant
and as healthy as I have ever seen.  Our clear turquoise waters have
returned and were calm and refreshing.  I can't wait to see what this
place looks like in a just a couple more months!

On another note.My t-shirt campaign at http://www.hurricaneivan.ky
<http://www.hurricaneivan.ky/>  has raised $1000 in the first three days
after launch!  Thanks for everyone's support!

Regards,

Bob Love
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

• From: "MB" <mbar-cyb AT candw.ky>
• Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 11:31:16 -0500

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 16:15:08 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 13:01:48 -0500
From: Tom McCallum <tmccallum_AT_thereef.com.ky>

Cayman will be "open for business" January 1st, 2005..... the best thing
anyone who cares about Cayman can do is to plan a visit to Cayman for early
2005.... and bring your friends and family...... you will be GUARANTEED the
warmest and friendliest welcome and hospitality you have every received in
your entire life...... we will be so happy to see you all.

Numerous hotels and resorts will be open for business before year end, some
in time for Thanksgiving.... I will arrange for updates on individual
properties to be sent to you weekly from now on, with the first detailed
update expected by Wednesday next week.

• From: "TerraFutan" <terrafutan AT candw.ky>
• Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 13:14:02 -0500

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 02:39:34 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 12:28:21 -0500
From: Arthur McTaggart

...

I've been trying to get some pictures of Cayman Rebuilding, and have now
posted them up on my website. http://gallery.shorelinx.ky I have a number
of albums that I have posted with a timeline from during, after, and now.
Might be useful for folks to have a look.

...

Take care,
Arthur

• From: terrafutan AT CandW.ky
• Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 09:07:33 -0500

Hi all

I have been back at work for the week now and we finally have power and our
ADSL line up. Adding to the already overwhelming amount of photos of Ivan, I
have also put some of mine up. Not all 300 I took mind you, but about 50 of
em.

I also have a 18MB video clip up of either scotia bank roof or the courthouse
roof flying past the window. For those of you that have a look, take note of
the window bulging in and out during the vid.

You can find it all at http://www.terrafutan.net

Later
TF
_______________________________________________________________
This mail sent using CandW.ky Webmail - http://webmail.candw.ky

• From: "Bob Love" <blove AT candw.ky>
• Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 16:42:26 -0600

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 13:12:20 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 09:41:29 -0500
From: Tom McCallum <tmccallum_AT_thereef.com.ky>

Gert,

I'm back online (at last)

As I think I told you, I run The Reef in East End
(http://www.thereef.com.ky ). We took damage, but not as bad as many, so
our resort (along with our partners at Ocean Frontiers) will be back up
and running soon.

Other than immediate donations of goods/cash, the best way that any friend
of Cayman can help is to book a trip for 2005. Spirits are high, people are
more friendly than ever as everyone now values what really counts in
life..... and we look forward to welcoming visitors back with open arms !

Please post this for me along with my email address, I am happy to field
emails.

Thx

PS I would also like to thank you SO much for your website, as you know you
were THE source of information that kept our friends and families overseas
relatively sane.... while all kinds of rubbish about looting, death etc was
being spat about by the supposedly responsible media, your site had the
truth..... which, as you now know, was that what Cayman saw in the reaction
of our people was everything that is good about this island..... warm,
friendly, upbeat people all helping each other out.

This is (hopefully) a once in a lifetime experience for all of us..... and
what I will take from it most was the unique wonder of Caymanians..... I
marvel at the strength and positive attitude of our people !

Tom McCallum
tmccallum_AT_thereef.com.ky
P.O. Box 30865 SMB, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
(345) 947-3100 x6494, (345) 947-9920 fax

The Reef Resort
"All Beachfront Luxury Suites"

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 21:40:22 -0400 (EDT)

Another correspondent surfaced!
----- Message Text -----

Another one of my special hurricane correspondents surfaced!

Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 20:33:23 -0500
From: Joyce Cantlay

Gert.
Just a quickie as we run our generator to charge cell phones. Most of the
island is still without power and water. In our condo there are several
families that have remained and we are pooling together. Oddly enough, many
are Canadian expats and as we explain to people, back home we actually pay
to do this stuff i.e. live without power and water. I fared out quite well
but I am in the 2 percent or so that did. Many friends have lost everything
are homeless - after the storm I had 11 plus people in my home but am down
to two at the moment. Still do not have full access to the essentials but
every day it gets a little better. Fuel is easier to come by and food is now
back on sale. Have not been able to buy drinking water but I hear a ship may
have come in today. Nevertheless we are grateful for what we have and are so
much better than many. Hundreds, if not thousands, spent many hours during
the storm in waist deep contaminated water or higher. Where I live is inland
and we have found tropical fish in the complex pool. That means for sure a
tidal wave washed over this area. We did not realize that until a day or so
ago.
Anyhow, just wanted to touch base and let you know that whilst we are tired,
hot, dirty etc. we do have a few laughs and are going to start a Survivor -
The REAL DEAL!!! We have a few tiki lanterns in the yard that did not blow
away and are well in commune living here!
Oh, and if you are a Mamas and Papas fan we have created our own version and
are singing "all the leaves are gone, and the sky is grey!"

• From: "Monique Hamaty" <mhamaty AT tortugaimports.com>
• Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 16:50:36 -0400

• From: "Jim Hellemn" <jim AT digitalprints.com>
• Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 13:09:51 -0700

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 12:41:40 -0400 (EDT)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 11:15:26 -0500
From: Mike & Kay <mkdetw_AT_charter.net>
Subject: Relief supplies unloaded today by Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises Unloading $50,000 Relief Supplies Today!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please read the GREAT STORY below about great effort by Princess Cruises 
delivering 150 tons of supplies today & being unloaded now onto ships' tenders! 
 Ship anchored off Georgetown today (Tuesday)!!

Check out Caribbean Princess webcam -- http://www.princess.com/bridgecams/ then 
click on Caribbean Princess & voila you will see Georgetown!!

I found out about this on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=81947

FULL STORY
[I copied whole story from "cruisenewsdaily" rather than just posting the link!]

"Shipping & Handling Included"
"Question: What's better than a $50,000 shopping spree? Answer: One that 
includes shipping and handling. Question: What's even better than that? Answer: 
If you're spending it all on needed relief supplies for the victims of 
Hurricane Ivan on Grand Cayman.

Last week, Princess Cruises went out and bought $50,000 of supplies needed by 
the residents of hurricane-devastated Grand Cayman. But in Princess' case, it 
isn't a case of just write out a check and let someone else handle it from 
there.

When it all got delivered to their Ft. Lauderdale warehouse, it included more 
than 17,000 bottles of bottled water, canned food (let's hope they remembered 
can openers), clothing (there is a special need for kids' clothing - some of it 
may even say "Caribbean Princess Inaugural Season" on it), generators (which 
are coveted items and almost impossible to obtain in Florida after three 
hurricanes) and chainsaws.

But that wasn't the end of the plan. It all needed to get to Grand Cayman. And 
the executives at Princess thought, "What's the good of having a 116,000-ton 
cruise ship sailing around the Caribbean, if all you're going carry on it is 
passengers?"

So last Saturday, when Caribbean Princess turned around at Port Everglades, 
they loaded all the supplies on the ship, and off it sailed on its western 
Caribbean itinerary with a full load of passengers along with almost 150 tons 
of cargo bound for Grand Cayman. (Caribbean Princess was scheduled to cruise 
the eastern Caribbean this week, but it was switched to the western Caribbean 
to avoid the possibility of crossing paths with Hurricane Jeanne.)

But that wasn't exactly just as easy as driving the trucks up to Caribbean 
Princess and loading it aboard. They first had to work out the very real 
question of just where were they going to put almost 150 tons of extra supplies 
onboard. To imagine the volume of this shipment, imagine just the bottled water 
alone. First picture a case of bottles. Now imagine 72 cases. That's one 
pallet. There are 20 pallets of water alone. Add in all the rest of the 
supplies and you can see why things got limited to 150 tons. One way or 
another, Princess got everything aboard in addition to everything they normally 
need to make sure their passengers don't want for a thing during their cruise.

Believe it or not, that was the easy part. The next part is even more 
mind-boggling.

As far as the passengers are concerned, tomorrow (Tuesday) is a sea day. The 
cruise director has scheduled a full day's worth of activities like any other 
day at sea. Caribbean Princess is enroute from Cozumel (where it called today) 
to Jamaica (on Wednesday). So some passengers will be enjoying a lazy day 
around the pool, perhaps watching a video on the giant screen. Others will have 
scheduled spa appointments. Some may be anxious to get to the ship's lounge for 
an afternoon of bingo. Some may even opt for a decadent leisurely lunch in the 
restaurant, followed by a movie in the cabin and a nap. There are a zillion 
options they could be doing. Meanwhile, below decks, something quite different 
will be going on.

About 10:00 tomorrow morning, Caribbean Princess will arrive at Grand Cayman. 
Remember last time you were at Grand Cayman? You tendered ashore, didn't you? 
There's no deepwater port there, so cruise ships can dock, and tomorrow won't 
be any different.

Just after it anchors offshore at George Town, Caribbean Princess will put all 
her tenders in the water just like it used to before Hurricane Ivan came 
through. The only difference is that this time, they will be filled with 
supplies instead of passengers. (Passengers won't be allowed ashore. Grand 
Cayman still isn't ready, even for those curious one who just want to look 
around.)

For the next six hours, all of the tenders will shuttle back and forth, 
ferrying the supplies ashore in a constant stream.

Now, do you want to be even more impressed? The crew members will have to load 
every one of those tenders by hand. You can't drive a forklift onto a tender.

It's not like the crew of Caribbean Princess isn't practiced in filling a 
tender with supplies by hand. Every week when the ship calls at Princess Cays, 
all the supplies need to be taken ashore the same way. The difference is that 
everything the passengers will consume during their day on the beach can be 
carried in just two tenders. This operation at Grand Cayman will have all the 
ship's tenders shuttling back and forth nonstop for six hours.

During that time, the complete 150 tons of cargo will be lifted and carried and 
tugged and pushed by hand by Caribbean Princess' crew members.

Donating $50,000 to buy supplies is impressive. Having a ship make a special 
stop to deliver them is even more impressive. Lifting and carrying almost 150 
tons of supplies by hand into tenders is the definition of commitment to the 
cause.

Copied from http://www.cruisenewsdaily.com/nf40920.html

Submitted by Kay Detwiler (Cookeville, TN)   mkdetw@hotmail.com (USE THIS 
EMAIL!)

• From: "Wall, Leroy" <lwall AT cppib.ca>
• Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 09:00:04 -0400

BEST PHOTOS OF IVAN DESTRUCTION IN CAYMAN

Well since I have had many many emails asking me for photos from Cayman.  I 
have put together an album of what I think are the best 50 or 60 photos I have 
seen from the hundreds that are floating around out there.  It seems some 
people are just adding every photo to their site and creating hundreds of 
duplicates and many photos that are not very good.

Please share these with your viewers, I think it captures the best of all the 
photos:

http://photos.yahoo.com/leroywall

• From: James Woollard <jflwoollard AT yahoo.co.uk>
• Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 22:50:36 +0100 (BST)

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 18:37:49 -0400 (EDT)

From: Rohan
Subect: Where to get things...

Water and food can be bought from all three major grocery stores (minus
the Hurley's East End [completely demolished]).  They can also purchase
cooked hot foods from the various restaurants that still continue to use
propane and gas.

Al Thompson and Cox are open (Cox will be shiping supplies for home repair
from there base stores in Tampa FL).  Every week we have ships coming in
with supplies and close to 20 flights per day with supplies.  So there is
no shortage of essential supplies.

By Thursday (no accurate) the major banks will be in some form of
operation.  I am not sure which banks but for now at least one branch from
each major commercial bank is open.  Usually from 9am - 2pm daily (no Sat
& Sun)

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 17:01:32 -0400 (EDT)

The CDC has a very informative webpage with practical post-Hurricane tips.
Some are useful, other are a little un-Caribbean :-)

Some of the topics are:
- How to Store Food Safely
- How to Make Sure Your Water is Safe
- How to Wash Your Hands without Water
- How to Cope with Stress after a Hurricane

Link: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/recovery.asp

*
**
*** Gert van Dijken ( gert@vandijken.com )
**** Caribbean Hurricane Network - http://stormcarib.com/

• From: <terrafutan AT terrafutan.net>
• Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 12:08:55

Day 9 - finally found some way of connecting to the internet.

Words will fail to convey the absolute terror and destruction a category 5 hurricane sitting over your head for almost 2 days can bring.

I now know why they call it catestophic. Its an apt description of the devestation wreaked on Grand Cayman by Ivan the Terrible.

I walked home to West Bay on Monday morning from the Grand Pavilion building on 7 mile beach . Buildings, landmarks, powerpoles, sedans, SUVs, pleasure boats, dive boats and shipping containers lay in my way. It was an emotional walk.

I was halfway when it struck me that there was no way my home could survive something this powerful. Ivan had moved the biggest dive boat in Cayman out of the water and deposited it in the Hyatt parking lot ontop of 10 cars. It had snapped reinforced concrete utility poles as if they were matchsticks. It had blown 2nd floor appartments completely off the 1st floor. Shipping containers that require 16 wheeler trucks to transport were lying helter skelter accross the roads.

And the survivors were out looking as shell shocked as I felt. Reaching the old Holiday Inn, I had to negotiate my way accross huge sand dunes that had made their way from the beach over the road. If I could call it a road - most of it was gone.

Well my laptop battry is dying - should get power back at work soon so Ill write more later.

I am working on putting up my 200 photos and videos onto a website for you all to see - but that will be a few days still.

Thanks to everyone for all the emails - since I have over 300 (damn spam) in my inbox - it might be awhile before I can get a reply to all of you.

Later
TF

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 13:12:40 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 07:08:50 +0100
From: Crawford Samuel

Hi Gert,

Spoke to my Father Milne Samuel, who lives out at Clearwater Avenue in
Savannah meadows last night. Also spoke to my mum who was staying out at
Pease Bay when Ivan hit. Here are a few things my father told me of what he
has seen and state of the area they are in.

He mentioned all is well in a sense, the house in Pease bay looks like a
doll's house in that the seaside wall of the house is totally missing. Mum
was in the house and the water started flooding in. Within minutes they
found themselves waist deep in water. Thankfully they left one window
un-boarded and managed to smash this and get out of the house before it was
destroyed. Mum, 2 friends and 5 dogs then spent the next 20 hours in the car
until the hurricane passed. Needles to say she is a bit shaken but getting
over it now. Dad mentioned that the house at Savannah is pretty much
unaffected. He said the offices at the Concorde building were flooded and
they are now carrying out cleanup sessions. He also mentioned Anna Morgan's
Pink House was devastated with a vast majority of it having collapsed. Mum
managed to rescue the cats and now they have quite a large animal sanctuary
at the house. He said he was able to queue at the bank on Tuesday and get
$500 out with no major problems. He managed to get fuel for the car today
paying with cash only. He charged his phone in the car as this was the only
way to do it as no power elsewhere. They got a free copy of the Cayman news
and Saturday which was good as they had no news just rumours of things on
the island. He reports that the Navy are still there and patrolling with the
police and special constables. He reports that thankfully they are carrying
on spraying for the mosquitoes, as that would really make life unbearable if
they did not. He said the heat is stifling and it is amazing how they have
taken air-conditioning for granted in the past. He mentioned that 3 shops
had been looted but the police were well and truly on top of the situation.
Also mentioned was the escaped prisoner, who he informs me has escaped may
times in the past and keeps getting his sentence extended, there are no
major concerns there. All in all everyone is in as good spirits, he said it
was an extremely frightening experience but things will get back to normal.

Thanks for your great sight; it has greatly helped everyone with what little
information has come out of Cayman. It is greatly appreciated.

Crawford L. Samuel

• From: "myislandlife04 AT yahoo.com" <myislandlife04 AT yahoo.com>
• Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 05:47:29 -0700 (PDT)

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 00:06:06 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 21:55:53 -0500
From: Donna

It is Sunday evening, I am on my laptop running out of power. We do not have
landlines only cell phones. I some how have hit with my card in the computer.
All seems to be going okay here. Will take a long time to get power to homes.
I heard GeorgeTown has some power and water. Monday some businesses/offices
will open. As reported I see, the damage is major. But everyone is help each
other with water, food and help with accomodations. Cayman will survive and in
the process of getting back to order. Food and supplies are arriving everyday.
No one is going hungry. We are a tired of camping out! Everyone is cleaning up
their yards and drying out their clothes. Has been bright and sunny except
last nite we had some rain. I see alot of blue plastic on roof tops. I would
say 95% of building are standing - but without roofs or windows out. I am
going to make this short as battery low. I will recharge and write more later.
Do not send me e-mails as I can not respond to them just yet. Believe me
EVERYONE is fine. I will write more tomorrow.
Donna
_______________________________________________________________
This mail sent using CandW.ky Webmail - http://webmail.candw.ky

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 23:57:14 -0400 (EDT)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 21:44:59 -0500
From: Sudeb <sudeb_AT_houston.rr.com>
Subject: News from Cayman as of 9/19

My father, Sam Ebanks, Jr. (North Sound Estates) called my brother today.
He was able to buy gas for the first time today.  He was also able to
purchase a "pay as you go" cell phone today.  He took his truck to the
airport to get the generator and screening material a family member
shipped to him on Cayman Airways via Houston yesterday - they told him
there was "nothing there for him".  The said to "check back next
Thursday"!  (hmmmmmmmm)

On his ride around the island he DID notice armed U.S. either military or
police.  So, apparently, the U.S. did send some help.  He also noted
Honduras police and Columbia police.  He heard the British ships are gone
- he heard since the Cayman Islands didn't join the "Euro" alliance (I
don't really know what it is or even if I have the name right) - that they
just left.

The good news is - he got gas and some form of communication.  He
apparently has found someone to come to his home and patch his roof with
plastic tomorrow.  This is good news, as it's been leaking everytime it
rains into his beautiful home.  Their neighbor lent them a generator for
now, since they were just able to get a new one.  He has water - for now.
Since they have gas, they can now cook on the gas grill - rather than
sterno they were using.

It will be a long, hard road, but I think they'll make it.  They are happy
to be at their home because they heard if homes are empty, things are
disappearing.  However, Dad said he has not seen any looting personally.
His wife, Elizabeth Faulkner Ebanks was able to go to the grocery store
today.  They had armed guards outside the store and they only allowed 10
people in the store at one time.  It was a 2 hour wait to enter the store.

I thought this information may be important for some people to hear, so I
wanted to share what we know so far.

God Bless!!  I've only been to Caymans 3 times, but was much impressed by
the warm and friendly people of the islands - and always tell everyone who
asks how wonderful they are.  They will make their island beautiful again,
no doubt.

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 23:55:03 -0400 (EDT)

Where to get water, food, other supplies on Grand Cayman:

Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 21:37:21 -0500
From: Arthur McTaggart

Water - Flower's Old Block Factory on Shedden Road. Water trucks are
stopping in other places allowing folks to fill up water bottles.

Food - Some Grocery Stores are now open (Fosters [Airport & Republix]),
Hurleys Grand Harbour). Expect lines.

Banks are scheduled to be open tomorrow.

Repair Supplies - A number of hardware stores are now open.

Communications are gradually improving as power is being restored to key
sections...

Hope this helps,
Arthur

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 23:11:02 -0400 (EDT)

From: Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce

The following link has accurate information about the rebuilding process
for the island.  This site also posts information from the Government
Information Services, the National Hurricane Commitee the Chamber of
Commerce, businees community.

Informaiton posted will only be done so from the approval of the Cayman
Islands National Recovery Commitee.

http://www.caymanchamber.ky

Thank you,

Rohan Marshall
Department Of Employment Relations
Cayman Islands Government

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 22:59:53 -0400 (EDT)

Turtuga Rum Cake Company Relief Effort Update:

Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 12:18:43 -0400
From: Monique Hamaty

To give you a brief update on what Tortuga Imports D/B/A Tortuga Rum
Cake Company has done through donated relief goods:


On Wednesday Sept. 15th Cayman Airways picked up 5 pallets of donated
goods (including water, food, & basic necessities) this shipped to
Cayman on Wednesday Sept. 15th.

On Thursday Sept. 16th, 2004 I along with 5 other business owners went
to Cayman on a private plane for business assessment purposes.  I also
took many photographs & posted them on our website www.tortugarums.com
<http://www.tortugarums.com/>

It is a fact that Cayman was hit extremely bad by Hurricane Ivan.  Some
areas were hit harder than others, but for the most part every single
person sustained damage (especially from the flooding).  I was not able
to make it to areas such as West Bay or East End, but heard that
extensive damage occurred in those areas. The one thing I must tell you
is that although the damage is major, the people had an amazingly good
attitude.  I heard comments such as "Well this has happened & we will
overcome this",  "we will build a better Cayman",  "We will work
together to get our lives back to normal", "Cayman will be ready for
tourist by March, 2005",  "This hit us like a ton of brick, but we will
rebuild those bricks."



It was a nice & positive tone to hear!



They are still in need of food, water, & especially building supplies.
I know that communication has gotten better and some business areas have
running water & the major businesses such as gas companies have
electricity.  This is a good sign.



Back to the relief efforts:

Friday Sept. 17th Cayman Airways picked up another 8 pallets full of
food, water, paper towel, baby food, diapers, etc.  This was shipped
Friday & should be distributed between today & tomorrow.



Chaney Brothers (West Palm Beach, FL) donated one 40'foot container load
of canned food & it was shipped by SEABOARD MARINE on Friday Sept. 17th.



Friday night at 10:PM Mr. Bob Porras contacted us regarding a US Defense
Cargo plane landing in Cayman on Saturday Sept. 18 at 8:AM, he arranged
pick-up from our warehouse of 10 pallets totaling 11,485 pound which was
delivered & transported on the plane to Cayman.  This plane arrived &
the goods are being distributed.



Saturday Sept. 18th, 2004 Tortuga Imports was open to collect donations,
truck loads of food arrived as well as a truck load of volunteers from
the Doug Williams Group (Management consulting firm based Miami,
Florida).  These volunteers as well as many other local volunteers
helped to organize & pack the food, water, building materials, etc.
Along with Tortuga Imports staff member who volunteered their time we
now have almost 6 more pallets ready to go.



It is now Sunday, we are continuing to collect relief goods here at our
Miami warehouse: Located at: 14202 SW 142 Ave. Miami, Florida 33186(open
M-F from 9:AM until 6:30PM and Sat. & Sun. from 10:AM u until 2:PM to
facilitate this relief effort) Phone # 305-378-6668.  We presently have
another 6 pallets ready to go & will contact Cayman Airways tomorrow for
pick-up.



The over whelming support from the people of our community as well as
the corporations locally, out of state, & international has been
remarkable. We have had so many volunteers and I would like to take this
opportunity to thank each & everyone who has donated and volunteered.
Bill Horan, I would also like to thank you for the countless hours you &
your staff have dedicated to helping the people of the Cayman Islands.
In addition Ms. Pilar Bush has been the voice for the country during the
time where no communitcation was available & I would like to thank her
personally for all the countless hours she has worked to ensure proper
information was distributed regarding the Cayman Islands.  Ms. Pilar
Bush advised that the countries website is being updated daily as
information comes in from the country: visit www.caymanislands.ky
<http://www.caymanislands.ky/>



To everyone out there- The Cayman Islands really needs your help &
everything you have done & continue to do is greatly appreciated.



May God Bless you all.



Blessings,

Monique Simmonds

President

And

Marcus Simmonds

Chief Financial Officer



Tortuga Imports Inc.

D/B/A Tortuga Rum Cake Company

14202 SW 142 Avenue

Miami, Florida 33186  U.S.A.

Phone 305-378-6668  ext.202

Fax 305-378-0990

e-mail: mhamaty@tortugaimports.com

website:  www.tortugarums.com <http://www.tortugarums.com/>

• From: Al Arnold <cayman-restoration AT alarnold.ca>
• Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 20:55:01 -0700

Cellular phone networks are stressed to beyond maximum in the Cayman islands.

The most efficient way to send messages is via the SMS cellular system.
SMS messaging, also known as text messaging uses the packet radio capabilities 
of the digital cellular network and is 
almost 100% percent reliable. Your message will get through. A recent news 
release from cayman cable and wireless 
explains:

Information On Text Messaging and General Communication  
 
18 September 2004

Cable & Wireless would like to inform the general public that there is a lot of 
traffic passing over its mobile network 
at this point in time. Because of this, it is hard to make and receive calls on 
your mobile phone. Cable & Wireless would 
like to ask the public to communicate via TXT messages rather than making a 
phone call. All TXT messages will be received 
and can be replied to. 

source: 
http://www.cwinternet.ky/internet/media/news/index.php?ID=65702759&month=09

To send a message to a cable and wireless subscriber click here
http://www.alarnold.ca/cayman.htm
<http://www.alarnold.ca/cayman.htm>
<a href="http://www.alarnold.ca/cayman.htm"; >Cayman phonebook and send SMS text 
message to cellular phone</a>

*Tip: If you are sending a SMS message from your cellular phone type 111 before 
every message, this instructs the GSM 
networks to send you a confirmation when your message has been received. Some 
carriers attempt to deliver SMS messages 
for upto three weeks, the cellular computer waits until the handset is turned 
on then it sends the message and if you 
enabled the "111" code it will send you a confirm when the handset is turned on.

I am working to enable a live ham radio link that outputs real time audio ham 
radio reports via the internet.
This may take a few days as most of the antennas have been knocked out, check
http://www.alarnold.ca/cayman-restoration.html
for updates.

Best Regards,
Al Arnold 

• From: "Candice and David" <discovery AT cablespeed.com>
• Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 16:57:56 -0700

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 16:55:56 -0400 (EDT)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/109543946484.htm

RED CROSS SAYS: 'DON'T FORGET THE CARIBBEAN' AS HURRICANE IVAN HITS
AMERICA
17 Sep 2004 16:36:00 GMT

Source: NGO latest


British Red Cross Society - UK
Website: http://www.redcross.org.uk/caribbeanappeal
For further information: Contact Will Slater/Clare Finnigan 020 7201
5016/7

RED CROSS SAYS: 'DON'T FORGET THE CARIBBEAN' AS HURRICANE IVAN HITS
AMERICA

As Hurricane Ivan moves across the United States the Red Cross is urging
people not to forget the devastation caused across the Caribbean, leaving
tens of thousands of people homeless and thousands of buildings destroyed.

Philippe Puyo-Tschanz, Americas desk officer at the British Red Cross
said: "Despite the image of the Caribbean as an exclusive holiday
destination, many of the people who live there are actually very poor and
this hurricane has destroyed their homes and their livelihoods.

"While there is no doubt that America has been badly hit, they have the
infrastructure and resources to cope better and recover more quickly.
However, people in the Caribbean will still be dealing with the
consequences of this disaster for years to come. The Red Cross is running
a massive emergency operation to assist 85,000 people over the next six
months and we need the public's support to help us provide this aid."

With thousands of homes completely destroyed, and water and electricity
supplies disrupted, the Red Cross has been at the centre of aid efforts to
help communities recover from the emergency.

Grenada

A British Red Cross logistics team has been based in Grenada since the
hurricane hit the island. The three person team have been receiving relief
supplies that have been sent to Grenada since the 12 September. The Red
Cross has already distributed 2,000 tarpaulins to help people carry out
repairs to their homes, and 2,080 hygiene kits have been distributed to
ensure the health needs of people whilst repairs are carried out to the
damaged water supply. It is estimated that 60,000 of the islands 90,000
inhabitants have been made homeless.

In some parts of the island there is a scarcity of food and the Grenada
Red Cross have been carrying distributions of food to 300 households a day
since 13 September. Each household receives rice, red beans, oil and sugar
to cover their needs until a large-scale food distribution to 10,000
people can be carried out this weekend.

The logistics team in Grenada is led by Richard North, he said: "When we
first arrived people were in shock and really traumatised. However, there
are many more people out and about, trying to repair roofs or clear the
streets of debris."

He added: "The main problem is the availability of drinking water, people
in some places have taken to drinking from the rivers. However the water
companies say that they will be able to restore most of the water supply
by Sunday."

Jamaica

The Jamaican Red Cross (JRC) is supporting a total of 15,000 people who
have lost their homes and possessions. The JRC is responsible for managing
100 community shelters that have been opened in the south west of the
island and have been distributing blankets, food and hygiene kits to
people taking refuge there. They have also deployed psychological support
teams to provide assistance and counselling to people living in the
shelters.

The British Red Cross sent a logistics expert to the island on the 14
September to help receive incoming aid flights and locate warehouses for
relief supplies.

Cayman Islands

A Red Cross plane of relief items will arrive in the Cayman Islands today.
The plane will be carrying 2,300 blankets, 900 hygiene kits, plastic
sheeting and kitchen sets to meet the immediate needs of people living in
shelters or whose homes have been partially destroyed.

The Cayman Red Cross have already distributed relief supplies that were
pre-positioned on the island as part of their disaster preparedness plans.
Stocks of blankets, plastic sheeting and wheelbarrows to assist in the
clear up were distributed in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. A
British Red Cross delegate has also been sent to the island to help the
Cayman Red Cross assess what aid supplies will be needed in the coming
weeks.

The British Red Cross is running an appeal to help people affected by the
hurricane. People can donate to the Caribbean Hurricane Appeal by calling
0870 169 9191 of by writing to Caribbean Hurricane Appeal, British Red
Cross, FREEPOST, London, SW1X 7BR.


*
**
*** Gert van Dijken ( gert@vandijken.com )
**** Caribbean Hurricane Network - http://stormcarib.com/

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 13:04:19 -0400 (EDT)

Cayman Net News publishes first newspaper following the storm
The first edition of Cayman Net News to be published since Hurricane Ivan
struck Grand Cayman arrived on the Island on Friday evening (September 17,
2004). The edition is a special issue, for which there will be no charge,
as our contribution to the recovery effort. The publication results from a
truly heroic effort on the part of our staff, working in the most adverse
conditions, along with our printers and graphics specialists in Miami, who
went to extraordinary lengths to make this possible...

Find it at http://caymannetnews.com

Since I think this is a historic issue for Cayman, and before it
disappears from the CaymanNetNews website, I have saves a copy of the
Newspaper on this website.
http://stormcarib.com/reports/2004/caymannetnews/IvanSpecial/

*
**
*** Gert van Dijken ( gert@vandijken.com )
**** Caribbean Hurricane Network - http://stormcarib.com/

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 12:36:07 -0400 (EDT)

Press Release by Brac Informatics Centre

Brac Informatics Centre guides customers through IT Recovery

Cayman Islands (September 16, 2004) . Brac Informatics Centre (BIC)
announced today that their ICTA licensed data and disaster recover center
in Cayman Brac suffered no damage as a result of Hurricane Ivan and
maintained 24/7 operations throughout the storm.

.Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by Hurricane Ivan.  Our
company is here to assist in any way we can., commented BIC President,
Nancy Kirkconnell-Ewing.

BIC is now proactively assisting customers on Grand Cayman to successfully
guide and expedite their business continuity and recovery efforts.  .In
addition to supporting our existing clients, we are very concerned about
assisting other businesses in Grand Cayman in need of information
technology assistance to stay operational.  Brac Informatics is operating
with a greater sense of urgency., reported Director of Technology, T.P.
Wong from the BIC facility.  .We are currently accommodating key personnel
from businesses that were affected by the devastation caused by Ivan.  We
were staffed with additional personnel in preparation for the hurricane
season and will have support on the ground in Grand Cayman beginning
Friday, Sept. 17 to assist with recovery efforts., Wong said.

BIC reports that the island of Cayman Brac has fully restored normal
operations.  The infrastructure is completely in tact and public utilities
including telephone and data, power, water, sanitation, and health
services are operating normally. Rooms are available for lodging at local
hotels, condominiums and other rental properties. Grocery stores and
restaurants have ample supplies of food and are open for business.

BIC has initiated a program to help relocate Grand Cayman families and
their business operations to Cayman Brac, allowing for a seamless
transition to comfortable lodging, schools, and data centre ready business
facilities.

.We know people want to stay relatively close to Grand Cayman so they can
easily keep an eye on the progress of recovery efforts there.  We will try
to assist as many businesses on Grand Cayman as possible.  Please call us
if we can be of help,. said company President Kirkconnell-Ewing.

Those interested in the BIC relief effort may contact them at 345.948.2722
or email at support@bic.ky.


*
**
*** Gert van Dijken ( gert@vandijken.com )
**** Caribbean Hurricane Network - http://stormcarib.com/

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 22:36:25 -0400 (EDT)

Cayman Islands Law School

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS LAW
SCHOOL (CURRENTLY IN NASSAU, BAHAMAS)

Having spoken with the Hon. Attorney General earlier
today and following conversations with the Dean of the
Liverpool University Law School yesterday, it has been
decided that the new Law School term (for both
undergraduate and postgraduate students) will likely
be delayed until January 2005.  With the support of
the University of Liverpool, term dates will be
re-arranged so that minimum inconvenience is caused to
CILS students, all of whom will remain eligible to
complete their existing year of study in the summer of
2005.  The Attorney General and Law School Director
are grateful for the expressions of support received
from the Liverpool University Law School and its
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Drummond Bone.

The Director is pleased to be able to report that all
full time members of the academic staff have been
accounted for, although a number, like countless other
members of the population have suffered severe
property losses. Further information concerning the
re-arrangements of CILS teaching for the 2004-2005
academic year will be made available following the
Director's imminent return to Grand Cayman. In
meantime, any inquiries may be directed to me at:
lucaya@coralwave.com

With best wishes to all.


Mitchell Davies.






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• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 22:31:52 -0400 (EDT)

Cayman Islands Update as of 2pm EDT, Friday  9/17

New York,  New York, September 17, 2004-- Below please find the most
up-to-date information  about the Cayman Islands from the US Cayman Islands 
office.
    *   The Cayman Islands Office in New York has started receiving donations
to  the Cayman Islands Hurricane Relief Fund which will be used to buy
necessary  emergency, medical and rebuilding supplies. Those wishing to drop off
supplies  can do so at Cayman Airways Cargo and Tortuga Rum Company in Miami and
Cox  Lumber Company in St. Petersburg Florida. (Full details are again
attached).
    *   AT&T restored network service yesterday in George Town, Seven Mile
Beach and Red Bay with data service is up and running
    *   The Monetary Authority will be open on Monday 9/20
    *   Cayman Utility Company (CUC) is restoring power today with the
priority to  Government Buildings including the Emergency Operations Center and
Hospital
    *   Posted as of today, available property status updates are listed on
_www.caymanislands.ky_ (http://www.caymanislands.ky/www.caymanislands.ky)  and
will be updated daily as  reports come in
Official Comments from the Royal Family and the  Governour

Today the British Royal Family sent warm expressions of support  to the
people of the Cayman Islands.

“I was horrified to hear of the  dreadful devastation which has been
inflicted upon the Cayman Islands by  Hurricane Ivan and wanted you to know how 
deeply
I feel for all those who have  been affected by this appalling storm. My