The Caribbean Hurricane Page Updates from the Islands Georges - Dominican Republic http://www.gobeach.com/hurr.htm

[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 13:02EDT] - Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     Santo Domingo, Tuesday, September 22, 1998 12:39 p.m. AST
     We are being lashed by hard winds. Pine trees are laying over in the
     gusts and the palms are being thrashed violently. Wind gusts are in the
     70 - 80 mph. Pieces of tin are flying down the street, and trash of all
     kinds, papers, tree limbs, real estate signs are being whirled about.
 
     The eye of the storm is approaching. It is now over San Pedro de Macoris,
     home of baseball homerun champion Sammy Sosa, and that is about 1 hour
     away driving time. At the eye wall the winds are being clocked at 120 mph
     and the storm is only moving at 14 mph so considerable damage is being
     done.
     
     We are still running on generator and receiving e-mails from all over the
     world, London, Belgium, South America, United States, and Canada. Even
     some here in the DR with many of them wanting us to contact loved ones
     who either live here or are vacationing here. We are doing our best to
     help. YOU ARE LIVE WITH THE LIVING STONES. We were also contacted by the
     BBC via e-mail in London wanting to do a live telephone interview and we
     provided our number. They e-mailed back that they couldn't get through
     because all the circuits were jammed. They said they would continue to
     try. So to our friends in London, keep listening you may hear these Yanks
     on the air in your fine country. We have two phone lines, one dedicated
     to the internet and we have been constantly logged on since 5:30 this
     morning. We have received calls on the other line and have talked with
     our parents in the US.
      
     Denise fixed us a good hot lunch so we are well fed and safe. It is
     frightening to watch the activity outside and our almost 17 year old has
     been watching in amazement. The storm continues to worsen as we write.
     The wind is howling and the rain is blowing sideways. Lots of things are
     breaking loose and flying. Many of the billboards and signs were taken
     down yesterday and plywood and taping was going on up until the last
     hour.
      
     The glass slatted window in our bedroom/office started rattling so
     violently that we decided to run some tape over the slats. The window is
     in an inside open shaft that runs from the parking lot on the first floor
     of the building and opens out on the roof top at the 11th floor. It is
     protected from the outside but it works like a chimney pulling huge
     drafts of air up the shaft. Those drafts were flexing the panes pretty
     strong so we taped them with three long strips of tape and closed the
     blinds.
 
     Another update soon!
 
     Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone      THE LIVING STONES  1 Peter 2:2-5

[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 11:55EDT] - Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     Santo Domingo, Tuesday, September 22, 11:33 a.m. AST
     The wind has picked up considerably and the palms and tall pines are
     swaying wildly in the breeze. The lower thicker trees are being ruffled
     thoroughly as well. The rain has started again. It seems to stop and
     start periodically, coming in waves with each one being stronger than the
     last. It appears our relative calm is over. We are ever closer to the
     hurricane winds moving in our direction.
 
     We have just finished adding more Ace "Duck Tape" to our sliding glass
     doors and the windows in one of the bedrooms. After we found out the new
     track this morning we decided this was prudent. Our sliding glass doors
     are somewhat protected by the extened wall of the apartment to our east
     and there are our bars top to bottom on the outside edge of the balcony.
     However it does face the Caribbean about one mile off in the distance.
     The bedroom also faces the same direction and even though the windows
     there are thick and strong we taped them securely with good old "Duck
     The bedroom also faces the same direction and even though the windows
     there are thick and strong we taped them securely with good old "Duck
     Tape".  Having farmed in Minn in the 70's and 80's and being a
     do-it-yourselfer I have used Duct Tape and as they call it at ACE "Duck
     Tape for a lot of things, but this is my first time for using it to
     hurricane proof windows. This time ACE really was the Place!
 
     The electricity has been shut off and our large diesel generator is now
     running. They usually run it in 5 hour shifts allowing for a cool down
     period so as long as we have the phone service we will continue to update
     you.
 
     Thanks to Gert at http://www.gobeach.com/hurr.htm we literally have heard
     from around the world. One of our newest e-mail encouragement came from
     an office in London England. One of their co-workers is here on the North
     Coast for a vacation. She is having a vacation she will never forget. We
     wish here luck and we are praying for her safety.
 
     We have also heard from New Hampshire, Maryland, Florida, South Carolina
     (our home state) and many other places. At times the mail comes faster
     than we can answer so we are adding all those names to our Update list.
      
     To our friend in Bani, Dominican Republic, batten down the hatches the
     track of the storm shows the eye passing directly over you and on to San
     Juan de la Maguana before crossing in Haiti. Tape your windows, fill the
     tub full of water and hang on.

     Gotta run and get this out while we still can.
      
     Danny, Denise and Jessica Stone      THE LIVING STONES  1 Peter 2:2-5NIV


[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 08:58EDT] - Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     Santo Domingo, Tuesday, September 22, 8:00 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time
     The rain has slowed to a light drizzle and the wind has decreased to a
     slight breeze. It is an eery calm. There are some cars moving about on
     the streets, but the city is relatively quiet compared to a normal day.
     Some of the cars driving the streets have their glass x-ed with tape.
 
     According to the forecast we are still on line for almost a direct hit.
     The current model from Storm98 shows us in the area for 40 - 45 mile per
     hour winds. On that model you can locate us near the 70th longitude back
     in the curved area between the two rivers. The river on the right is the
     Ozama where Columbus began the settlement. His son, Diego, built a house
     overlooking the river which was completed in 1509. It has been restored
     and visited by thousands of tourists each year.
 
     Part of our new group of weather friends that have been e-mailing us is a
     meteorologist in NC. Fred has been giving us detailed info on the storm.
     Thanks Fred for all your hard work. If not for the internet we would be
     in the dark for info. We have been working on the Spanish but it is
     difficult to understand everything that is said over the radio or TV. At
     a time like this it is better to get info in your native tongue.
 
     9:00 a.m. AST
     Rain has picked up some and the trees are starting to blow a little more.
 
     We will try to update you as long as possible.
 
     Danny and Denise Stone
[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 08:00EDT] - Ann Hoff-Fanaian reporting from Santiago, Dominican Republic:
     Tuesday September 22, 7:56 a.m. Santiago, Dominican Republic (Northern
     region).
     Only rain, cloudy but not dark. George veered south, quite amazing
     actually, they almost always go north. Twenty years ago David went north
     right through the middle of our country and we were devastated. Right now
     we can't predict what George will do, but the eye of the Hurricane will
     be south of Santo Domingo. Can't tell yet what will happen to the
     southern part of the country but we understand the eye will be at sea.
     We are quite relieved up north, since we were expecting to be hit quite
     hard. We continue to wait... It seems like Cuba is now warned of the
     hurricane getting there and Haiti has more probabilities of being hit.

[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 05:48EDT] - Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     Santo Domingo, Tuesday, September 22, 5:30 a.m.
     An unfortunate turn of Georges now has forecasts the track almost
     directly upon us and across the island through the town of San Juan de la
     Maguana where the Rose of Sharon Orphanage is located. They have 80 boys
     and about 10 workers in the home along with Robby Strickland the
     administrator who comes from NC. Pray for their safety.
 
     Winds at the center of the storm are 110mph with gusts of 130mph. The eye
     of the storm is over water again which means a possibility of
     strengthening and it looks like it will be just off shore on the water
     when it passes us. Our city is located on the shore so it looks as though
     we will be hit hard.
 
     Current conditions: rain has started and is being to pick up. Wind is
     light at the moment but seems to be increasing.
 
     Keep praying.
 
     Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone
[Mon, 21 Sep 1998 23:01EDT] - Alec  Dittrich reporting from Dominican Republic:
     We are.......waiting......

     George is approaching us. There is nothing we can do about it as much as we
     wished we could. The only good news we received so far is that more and more
     the storms trajectory is moving out of our area and into the Atlantic and he
     is reducing himself to a category two, as our latest reports stated. Prayers
     from al over the country have hailed the heavens lately, people who can't
     even spell Hurricane suddenly where aware of the threat approaching them as
     the news have grown more watchful. But It is impossible to organize all the
     flow of information and legends prevailing on the ether, because of
     misinformed newscasters and people who just don't know the difference
     between miles per hour and kilometer per hour. Is he coming? Is he not? Is
     he traveling at 170 miles per hour? Or was that the wind speed?
     As unbelievable as it might sound, there are still persons who do not know
     that a tropical depression is on the way to them, because they simply do not
     watch the news and have nothing else on they're minds but Sosa. They just go
     about their lives, go to work each day, watch Sammy on TV and oversee almost
     deliberately the news because anything that goes on outside they're everyday
     walls is irrelevant to them.
     But not only the ordinary people are overseeing the danger coming, but also
     the government. Except for the meteorological branch, nothing is happening.
     The local versions of the national guards that usually are the ones in
     charge of disasters are inconspicuous. Nothing is to be seen or heard from
     them. Not even journalist can get any information if there is any planning
     in progress of if the country even HAS an emergency plan. Reporters that
     have tried, have only received a cold shoulder and a "non of your business"
     look. So it is al up to do-it-yourself.
     So we sit and we wait. Like ducks in a pond or fish in a barrel. Georgy Boy
     is not to be stopped. We sit and we pray.

[Mon, 21 Sep 1998 22:12EDT] - Ann Hoff-Fanaian reporting from Santiago, Dominican Republic:
     Monday, September 21Santiago, Dominican Republic. 10:09 PM. Very
     calm..very calm. Of course we know the Eye of the Hurricane is over
     Puerto Rico now and we dread the worst, hoping that it will go north and
     miss us, that is what most dominicans want. There is a mixed feeling that
     it might just happen that way, but we don't want to be unprepared.
     Hopefully we will still be able to get to the web and find things out
     since we don't get much in the news, even viewing cable channels they are
     mostly dealing with the Clinton story, so we don't get information on how
     the hurricane is affecting our neighboors.

[Mon, 21 Sep 1998 20:23EDT] - Victor Russo reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     Calm, that you can say is an april day,at these time,george is battling in
     san juan puerto rico,temp here is 27 degrees and looks like a normal
     evening.
     Santo domingo and the rest of country in calm.Everybody is in the house
     watching the news.the time now 8:25 pm.
     For those who e-mail me thanks, their messages on the way.

[Mon, 21 Sep 1998 17:51EDT] - Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Monday September 21, 1998, 5:00p.m.

     This is from our balcony looking east toward Puerto Rico. The clouds are
     the leading edge of Georges which is expected here around midnight with
     the full force not arriving until noon on Tuesday. The forecasted track
     is along the northern coast of Hispaniola so it looks as though our city
     is going to be spared the eye of the storm.
 
     Many signs and billboards were being taken down today and some stores and
     homes were putting up plywood. Others taped windows and it seems everyone
     bought extra food and water. Lines in the supermarket stretched from the
     check out counter to the back of the building and about 40- 50 people
     stood in line outside the entrance waiting for a cart to use for their
     shopping. We have never seen so many people in a supermarket. These were
     longer lines than any Christmas rush we ever experienced in the states.

     Extra drinking water has been purchased and tubs and sinks will be filled
     with water tonight. Our apartment building filled the diesel tank this
     afternoon so hopefully we will have electricity and water until the
     underground cistern is empty. Our daughter was told at school to make
     sure and fill the tub with water because that service is usually lost
     with the loss of electricity and could be out for 3-4 days.
 
     Our main bedroom has a metal hurricane shield which has been closed and
     locked so that will be our safe room during the worst of the storm. The
     balcony is protected with metal bars, and the plants and furniture have
     been moved inside. The canvas awnings have been raised and secured and the
     glass doors have been taped. Our landlord advised us to use these
     procedures as they were adequate for her in this apartment during
     hurricane David.
 
     If- the big IF- we have electricity and telephone service tomorrow
     morning we will try to give you another picture and an update. Keep all
     those being blasted by Georges in your prayers this evening. Pray for
     safe keeping. God bless you all.
 
     Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone      THE LIVING STONES - 1 Peter 2:2-5NIV


[Mon, 21 Sep 1998 13:34EDT] - Luis Gonzalez Fabra reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     In Santo Domingo just started raining. Theres is a big expectation
     among people. Many  people  lived home to go to some better structure.
     We are waiting the force of the hurricane pass over  in the early
     morning of tuesday.

[Mon, 21 Sep 1998 10:36EDT] - Jean M. Casasnovas reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     Up to date we are still under warning for this hurricane
     all the eastern island like Pto.Rco. , St. Marteen , U.S. Virgin Islands are
     under hurricane warning and several final preparations are done there.

     This is an extremely dangerous hurricane and in Dominican Republic all the
     goverment agencies involved are taken the provisional remedies in order to
     evacuate local little towns and coastal populations including warnings in
     all tourism facilities such as hotels

     Our people are buying at supermarkets and taking the provisions in case
     George pass all over the Island.

     Our people has been under this tropical situations before and we expect to
     handle the best under the worst conditions.

     I'll keep informed as long as I can

     With regards

      Actuallly I am informed that the eye of George is located at near latitude
     17.5 North, long. 63.7 west. is very close to St. Croix. maximun sustained
     winds are around
     110 mph.with higher gusts. On its current track  at 9:00 a.m. will cross
     culebra and vieques islands and around 2 p.m. will be over eastern of Pto.
     Rco.

[Sun, 20 Sep 1998 23:05EDT] - Victor Russo reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     In Santo Domingo begins to rain,a light rain and stop the temp is 26
     degree
     and the air is hot.everything is quiet.Martinique is under george at
     these moment.God be with them.

[Sun, 20 Sep 1998 20:13EDT] - Victor Russo reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     The calm of waiting, is  like the name of suspense movie film,we are in
     the screen right now,still 36 more hours to wait !
     Our day was sunny,calm and beautifull, temp raise to 31degree and was a
     shopping day,supermarkets,lumber yards,drug store,gas station and who
     knows what else.
     Prices as always Up, only for food.I was kind of busy today doing all
     the things that you never have time to do it.I think all the dominicans
     do the same,maybe we all the inhabitans of the island of the caribbean
     do their job.Let's take a moment to ask the divinity to take care of
     our island,please pull the giant away
     for the glory of God. Solidarity is a BIG word,thanks to julia and
     stephanie @redsail,Nick my cousin from Sugar land tx.and to Dee in
     Jamaica and all visitors to the page of GERT what can i say to you
     THANKS for your work is unvaluable..

[Sun, 20 Sep 1998 00:52EDT] - Victor Russo reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     Night is calm and quiet,in Santo Domingo the temp is nice,and everybody
     went out to saturday nigth fever,or may be trying to disipate the fear
     of another hurricane,as someone earlier says we the dominicans are not
     prepare to deal with those phenomenon.Our civil defense is too
     weak,lack of organization.
     we only count with the divinity and ask him to take it to the
     atlantic ocean.As the time begins to runs,we will talk again.

[Sat, 19 Sep 1998 18:38EDT] - Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone reporting from the Dominican Republic:
     We have had an absolutely beautiful day here in Santo Domingo, but
     residents are clearly concerned about Georges. We moved here from South
     Carolina one year ago, and our observation is that this city is clearly
     unprepared to take a hit from a major storm. In heavy thunderstorms there
     is flooding in many of the streets, telephone service is lost in many
     areas, and there are electrical blackouts so a major storm would be
     devastating.

| Back to Caribbean Hurricane Page | Hurricane Guide | QHWRL | More 1998 Season | 1997 Season | 1996 Season |