Earl seemed to go easy on us until around noon 2 days ago, but as the eye passed Anguilla, all of a sudden strong gusts accompanied by heavy rain, tore down trees and took down everything not securely fastened, like my satellite dish. Oops, I should have taken it off my roof, and I saw it fly by as I closed the shutters. We had been able to spend the morning out on our west facing terrace, but when the gusts hit, even on the west side of the house it wasn't safe anymore. Fortunately, I had parked my car close to the house, because the dish landed in the spot where I usually park. The next few hours we spent waiting for the worst to pass. The local radio station was out, so it was difficult to get updates and to find out what was going on. I don't have much of a view, so as soon as the storm calmed down, we took the car and went for a short ride. Clean-up crews were already at work to clear the roads from fallen trees and branches, and other debris. At Toiny, one boat was beached (what a crazy idea it was of the owner to leave the boat there during a storm). Other than fallen trees, we didn't see much damage. Some lower roads were flooded, but nothing impassable. Nature took a hit, and since we had a lot of rain this summer, the island was lush and green. After Earl, it looks more like we're in the middle of a drought. Gustavia took some flooding damage, and a lot of trees were downed. The ferry port was flooded and damaged, as well as the town hall. I know at least one catamaran sank during the morning at Corrossol, but the owner was able to make it to the shore alive. There has been a lot of beach erosion, and this while a few beaches were just receiving new sand. As far as I know there is some damage to the stadium. The airport was reopened at noon yesterday.

In the pictures the view from my house. The first pic was taken early in the morning, the others as the day progressed. The last is of the stranded boat at Toiny.