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The Caribbean Hurricane PageUpdates from the Islands
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Earlier updates are on another page.
Please note, I just received this note from DR, but it is dated yesterday afternoon. -Gert Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 13:15:30 -0400 From: Manuel A. Pena Morel (man.pena@codetel.net.do) Subject: Hurricane George, 9-22-98, 13:00 ET, Santo Domingo Report from Santo Domingo: Right now, Hurricane George its hammering us. Trees are falling, winds are extremely powerful, I've have counted more than 20 trees around my block from my window...this is wild. Eye is supposed to pass very soon above us. We'll keep updated. Osvaldo Pena.
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 09:12:33 -0300 From: Danny Stone (danny.stone@codetel.net.do) Subject: Re: 11 p.m. AST Update Dear Gert, Thank you for your great page. We put your site in our two groups we were sending updates and they were able to keep up with things while we were out of service. We had a message from New Zealand, two from Belgium, two from Canada, one from Barcelona Spain, one from South America, a radio station in Aruba (with whom we did a live on-air report last evening), two from England plus a report to the BBC (they did reach us), one from Central America, a TV meteorologist in San Francisco who wants to do a live call for his spot today, and messages from all over the US. When I asked these people how they heard about us it was usually through USA Today to your site. The announcer in Aruba found it on line and after giving him the URL again he broadcast it to his listeners. Yesterday after we came back online at 6 p.m. we had 37 e-mails and they continued to come 3 and 4 at a time until 11:30 p.m. when we had to go off again. We also were quoted by the Reuters news agency. They were evidently monitoring your site and pulling off quotes. Someone sent us a copy of it. They listed Danny and Denise Stone as authors of the quote. We haven't been able to find exactly which papers published the article. You helped to make what could have been a very scary and isolated time a a very exciting and interesting time. We have received so many notes of thanks from families and friends of people who were here. They were frustrated by the lack of news about conditions in the DR by the major media outlets. Many were expressed relief at finding us and finding your site. Thank you so much. If you want to post an update - it is bad. 9:05 a.m. AST Devastation is everywhere. Looking across the city almost makes you want to weep. The trees that are left standing are stripped of their foilage and hundreds of others are in the street. Even the beautiful bougainvillea bushes are stripped of their leaves and blooms. There is every imaginable damage to the buildings and homes; broken glass, canvas awnings ripped and some in the parking lots and streets, water everywhere. Our elevators are out so I took the stairs down this morning to receive a veritcal blind that was sucked out the window (winds are still very strong) and by the time I reached the third floor the water was cascading like a waterfall down the steps. At every floor people were sweeping and pushing water out of their apartments toward the stairwell. There were some cars with windows blown out and tops caved in. Many lines are down so there is no way to imagine how long it will be before regular electricity is restored. Some large towers toppled in the storm and are no longer part of the view. Debri and standing water is everywhere. Another fear expressed by authorities here last evening is the spread of Dengue fever. This viral fever is spread by the Tiger mosquito which prefers urban settings. They breed in fresh water and unlike other mosquito they feed in the daytime, early morning and late afternoon. There is no prevention or treatment for this fever and without proper medical care it can cause death. Our family all had the fever last year in October and I (Danny) spent 8 days in the hospital. It left me very weak and thin and it took over a month to regain my strength. Well, there is water to be swept and mopped and glass to be cleaned up. Thanks Gert for a great site and keep in touch. We will do more updates later if you need them, just let us know.
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 12:49:55 +0100 From: Tanja Otto (tanja@netcologne.de) Subject: Update to D.Rep. / Juan Dolio [...] We lost contact to them (phone line cut) at Sep. 22 3:30 p.m. no updates till now, lines are still cut, but we try it. We know from that particular Hotel (Hotel Juan Dolio in Juan Dolio) that the people had to go into their rooms and wait until it is over, power is cut and all windows are closed and darkended (curtains are closed). We had the impression that the guys at the hotel did not really know what to do despite telling the people to go into the room and wait... The travel agent went to his family yesterday and left the people alone there. That's all for now. Greetings Tanja and Thomas from Cologne/Germany
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 21:34:13 -0700 (PDT) From: Sven Kohn (suckerpuppy@yahoo.com) Subject: Georges "North Coast Update" From: Sven Kohn It is now 12:19 am, I have been keeping in touch with my friends in Sosua and Puerto Plata all day with ICQ. They gave me information about the weather conditions in Sosua since 12pm. As far as I know they have told me that it wasn't so bad afterall. Winds have reached up to 30 knots,a few windows broke but that's about it. [...]
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 23:00:02 -0300 From: Danny Stone (danny.stone@codetel.net.do) Subject: 11 p.m. AST Update Santo Domingo, Tuesday, September 22, 1998 8:15 p.m. AST Finally, the end is near. We are experiencing strong winds and some light rain, but conditions have improved greatly. We still get occasional gusts that howl and make the windows rattle, but the worst is really over for today. It has been a long and tiring day, but we wanted to do one more update and let you know that things are calming down a bit. Fortunately, the generator is continuing to run providing us with electricity. Thanks to all of you who wrote us notes of encouragement and information and especially those of you who have been praying. Your prayers are very much appreciated by the Stone family. We will provide an update sometime tomorrow to let you know what the day after brings us. Good night and God bless you all. Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone THE LIVING STONES 1 Peter 2:2-5
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 21:59:59 -0400 From: Tim Hall (timhall@codetel.net.do) Subject: Re: Puerto Plata updates Puerto Plata, Rep. Dom 22 Sept 98 10 p.m. Gusts of wind, choppy seas and almost no rain appear to be the extent of Georges' impact on this north coastal city located more or less halfway between Mona Passage and Haitian border. A half hour ago I drove along the oceanfront Malecon with windows open feeling wind gusts of maybe 20-30 knots: not much different than what the Northers blow in two or three times per year. Everything is closed up tight, there is no power but phone and cable TV service continues. If I understand my history correctly, Puerto Plata has never felt the brunt of a hurricane. The mountains to the south and east, and and the northwesterly curve of traditional hurricane paths seem to combine to make this one of the most hurricane-proof Caribbean cities.
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 20:16:13 -0300 From: Danny Stone (danny.stone@codetel.net.do) Subject: 8:15 p.m. AST Update Santo Domingo, Tuesday, September 22, 1998 8:15 p.m. AST Georges seems to have stalled over us. Darkness had come but the wind continues to howl with hurricane force and the rain is pouring. A report on the national radio station says that Punta Cana, Higuey, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo, and Azua have been devastated by the storm and so far there are 12 confirmed dead. For those interested the vacationers at Punta Cana were moved to a safe location. We personally witnessed a satellite dish being torn off of a roof, trees being broken in half, others uprooted and some simply stripped of all their leaves and foilage. Many signs are down, awnings torn up, roof tiles blown away, pieces of tin being blown down the street. Another neighbor to the side of our balcony had his plywood ripped away by the storm and his safety rail is hanging away from the building at a 45 degree angle. You know from the last update that one of our glass doors exploded. Later the vertical blind on that side was ripped from the cement casing and crashed to the floor. Rain continues to pour through the opening with hurricane force winds. Our canvas awning had been rolled up and survived well until just before dark when one corner was ripped by a gigantic blast of wind. After that it began to shred into long strips. With every gust of wind it began to tatter faster and faster. We are inundated with water and we have swept until we can sweep no more. It is nice to once again have the air of a fan and running water so we are taking a break. We thought it would be subsided by now, but it continues to wail. From the maps and from our meteorologist friend in NC tells us we are on the back side of the eye. Without knowing for sure, but based on my previous experience with Hugo in 1989 I think we are still getting some gusts of 100mph. Another update soon! Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone THE LIVING STONES 1 Peter 2:2-5
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 19:50:18 -0300 From: Danny Stone (danny.stone@codetel.net.do) Subject: 6:00 p.m. AST Update! Santo Domingo, Tuesday, September 22, 1998 6:00p.m. AST Well, seems like the worst is over, but the wind is still tropical storm force and at times hurricane strength and the rain is pouring. Electricity was turned off at 11 this morning and the generator was stopped about 1:00 and by 1:30 we were taking a pretty good lashing. This has continued until the present time. Denise - About 2:00 the man in the apartment beside us (facing the opposite direction) was sweeping water from his apartment into the hall. His sliding glass doors had been blown off their track and lay unbroken in the floor while the wind rushed rain through the empty hole. Danny helped him sweep water for a while until the gentleman decided it was hopeless while the storm continued. At 2:45 one of our sliding glass doors exploded. There was a moment of near panic as we realized that while Jess and I could see each other, we did not know where Danny was. We were all in the process of trying to clean up water and getting towels on the floor to try to stop it from going further. I was in the hall planning to step out into that area to get some towels that I had layed on a table when I saw the door explode. Danny had gone into the kitchen, but we couldn't see him at the time. After a few minutes, he made a run for the hall and we all went to the bedroom where we felt safe behind the hurricane shield. We didn't realize how frightening that was until safely back in the room. We have water in all our floors and have been busy trying to clean it up as much as possible so that it doesn't get worse. (Water has also been pouring in under the windows and around the air conditioners.) And as long as the wind blows and the rain continues, water will be entering our house through that wide open place where one of the glass doors used to be! We have seen several sheets of plywood lying on the street outside having been ripped loose by the winds. As the closed doors in our home beat and banged and threatened to be forced open, we felt the pressure in our ears terribly. We are extremely blessed to still have phone service. And we once again have electricity via the generator, and we wanted to rush out a report to let everyone know we are fine. We don't really know where we are in this storm because we have been off line for so long. Our guess is that we are on the back side and it will all die down soon. We're not sure that is true though, as another missionary has told us that he was in the eye at the time we were talking to him and expecting the rest to come. He also lives in Santo Domingo, but in a different area. A friend from Miami called and according to what she was seeing on the news, the eye was just past us, so we believe SHE is the one who is right! We are making it through our first island hurricane, but we heard a report on the national radio station here that at least 12 people are confirmed dead. According to the report the island has been devastated by the storm, and President Leonel Fernandez has ordered the army to assist the national police as soon as they can get out into the city. Thanks for all your prayers and support. We love you all. Another update soon! Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone THE LIVING STONES 1 Peter 2:2-5
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 19:53:04 -0500 From: vrusso@oscarbbs.com Subject: A SOLICITUD EN ESPANOL ME HAN PEDIDO QUE EXPLIQUE LA ACTUAL SITUACION EN ESPANOL. A LAS 7:38 DE LA NOCHE,ACABA DE PASAR EL TERRIBLE HURACAN POR SANTO DOMINGO,SE INFORMA DE UNA SOLA PERDIDA UN NINITO AL CAERSE UNA PARED. LOS VIENTO DE RAFAGA PERSISTEN CON UNOS 35 O 40 MILLAS POR HORA,UNA LLOVIZNA SOSTENIDA,LA ELECTRICIDAD CORTO EL SUMINISTRO COMO A LAS 2:00PM ,ESTAN POR EL SUELO LOS POSTES DEL ALUMBRADO LAS LINEAS DE TELEFONOSY Y LO MAS HERMOSO DE SANTO DOMINGO SU FRONDOSA ARBOLEDA, LAS CALLES NO SE VEN PUES LOS ARBOLES CAIDOS SON TANTOS ,EL TRANSITO VEHICULAR NO EXISTE, Y LO MAS DOLOROSO ES QUE EL HURACAN SE INTERNA EN LA REGION DEL CIBAO,EL AREA DEL LOS CAMPESINOS QUE SUS CASAS SON DE MADERA Y TECHO DE ZINC.LOS RIOS SE DESBORDAN PUES NO HA CESADO DE LLOVER EN ESA AREA,NOS ALEGRAMOS SABER QUE AYER HABIAN ABIERTO LAS COMPUERTAS DE LAS PRESAS,ESO AMINORA LAS INUNDACIONES.EN FIN ES TODO UN DESASTRE.LOS HOTELES DE PLAYA EVACUARON HACIA SANTO DOMINGO LOS TURISTAS,ES DECIR BUENA MEDIDA,ESTAN EN HOTELES EN SANTO DOMINGO,QUEDAN TRES ESTACIONES DE TELEVISION EN EL AIRE. ESPERAREMOS LA LUZ DEL NUEVO DIA PARA VER LO SUCEDIDO.. VICTOR RUSSO
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 18:12:17 EDT From: Laniepanie@aol.com Subject: DOMICAN REPUBLIC Isn't it amazing that the phones lasted so long? I spoke with my parents in Santo Domingo at about 4:30 p.m. (their time) They thought the wind was 100 mph, plus, just guesstimating. Again, the concrete buildings are holding up fine as far as they can tell. Lots of flooding and debris, the water was up to their wheel wells on their toyota pickup outside.
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 23:43:01 +0200 From: Patrick Metthez (paticanzo@bluewin.ch) Subject: Boca Chica Hi, We just spoke with our family in Boca Chica. The phone still works but it's difficult to get a line. Electricity is gone. A lot of roofs have been blown. Houses even some made of bricks have been blown away! All the trees are down and water runs everywhere. Patrick
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 18:16:23 -0300 From: Danny Stone (danny.stone@codetel.net.do) Subject: 6:00 AST - UPDATE Santo Domingo, Tuesday, September 22, 1998 6:00p.m. AST Well, seems like the worst is over and things will only get better from here. Electricity was turned off about 1:00 and by 1:30 we were taking a pretty good lashing. About 2:00 the man in the apartment beside us (facing the opposite direction) was sweeping water from his apartment into the hall. His sliding glass doors had been blown off their track and lay unbroken in the floor while the wind rushed rain through the empty hole. Danny helped him sweep water for a while until the gentleman decided it was hopeless while the storm continued. At 2:45 one of our sliding glass doors exploded. There was a moment of near panic as we realized that while Jess and I could see each other, we did not know where Danny was. We were all in the process of trying to clean up water and getting towels on the floor to try to stop it from going further. I was in the hall planning to step out into that area to get some towels that I had layed on a table when I saw the door explode. Danny had gone into the kitchen, but we couldn't see him at the time. After a few minutes, he made a run for the hall and we all went to the bedroom where we felt safe behind the hurricane shield. We didn't realize how frightening that was until safely back in the room. We have water in all our floors and have been busy trying to clean it up as much as possible so that it doesn't get worse. (Water has also been pouring in under the windows and around the airconditioners.) And as long as the wind blows and the rain continues, water will be entering our house through that wide open place! We have seen several sheets of plywood lying on the street outside. the winds were strong enough to whip those off. As the closed doors in our home beat and banged and threatened to be forced open, we felt the pressure in our ears terribly. We are extremely blessed to still have phone service. ANd we even have electricity! It just came on and we wanted to rush out a report to let everyone know we are fine. The winds are still strong and it is still raining. We don't really know where we are in this storm. Our guess is that we are on the back side and it will all die down soon. We're not sure that is true though, as another missionary has told us that he was in the eye at the time we were talking to him and expecting the rest to come. He also lives in santo Domingo, but in a different area. A friend from Miami called and according to what she was seeing on the news, the eye was just past us, so we believe SHE is the one who is right! We've made it through our first island hurricane. We made it safely, and we learned some things to do differently the next time. Rule number 1: Never let anyone convince you that duct tape alone is enough! I think the plywod will be cheaper than the door! Thanks for all your prayers and support. We love you all. Another update soon! Danny, Denise, and Jessica Stone THE LIVING STONES 1 Peter 2:2-5
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 18:05:05 -0400 From: Ann Hoff-Fanaian (d.fenaian@codetel.net.do) Santiago, 18:01, September 22. George is now 18.6 and 70.3 which is south of the Central Mountain ranges. Santiago will not get hit but San Juan the La Maguana will. It has been reported it has lost its strength. We are relieved. We will still get a lot of rain, though we won't have the strong winds like people in Santo Domingo. A friend wrote to me from there and says he saw a big roof tank (used to store water) fall on top of a car... Well, thanks to all for your prayers, the North has been spared. The hurricane is heading for Haiti, probably over it. Can't say if it's much weaker, though the radio station says it is and the satellite shows it moving west. Ann Hoff-Fanaian Santiago,Dominican Republic
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 17:14:42 -0400 From: Ariadne Colon (AColon@featfirst.com) Subject: Vanessa Colon Thank God the telephone lines in Santo Domingo are still up and was able to hear from Santo Domingo: News is that the control tower at the airport was possibly toppled over. Heavy rains and strong winds have blown off roofs, converted smaller trees into missiles and have flooded most of the capital. Is there anyway of knowing the situation in Dajabon and Montechristi?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 16:18:36 -0400 From: Paws 4 Fun (chablisj@gte.net) Subject: Santo Domingo update Hi, I just got through speaking with my sister and brother-in-law in Santo Domingo and they said the wind started to abate about 1/2 hour ago. Their concrete house made it through fine, although there is quite a bit of water inside it. There are a lot of trees and limbs down, blocking the roads and some of the wood houses were severely damaged. They expect a great deal of flooding from the rivers, but the telephone service was working. Electricity went out at 9 am this morning and was still out. Jan Harris
[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 16:28EDT] - Ann Hoff-Fanaian (still) reporting from Santiago, Dominican Republic:
Santiago, 4:15p.m.---Tuesday, Sept. 22.
We are expecting the worst. All communciation in Santo Domingo (radio-Tv)
is down. Streets are rivers and posts, signs, trees, rubble is
everywhere. Roofs have gone off. A friends house is flooded in part of
the best parts of town (Ensanche Naco). We are in Santiago, but have
information from last half hour that the winds in Bonao are unbearable. A
lady died of a heart attack, the emergency room at a local hospital there
is full of people, and an individual was trying to fix his roof and the
winds flew him off, he can't be found.
Lots of winds in Jarabacoa and officials and volunteers are helping out.
Though people were not sure about going to refuges early this morning,
more and more people have decided to do so.
The Yaque River in Santiago is pretty wide now, even though the rains are
not that hard in Santiago. Some houses near, very near, the river basin
are surely to disappear as the afternoon goes on. We could see some
people in one of the houses near the river just half an hour ago.
The only radio station we could get information from, located in La Vega,
is now out of the air. It seems they lost their antenna also.
No news from the eastern part of the country, though we are sure it is
devastated. The images on Tv we could see up to 2:30 p.m. this afternoon
are dreadful...
Ann Hoff-Fanaian
Santiago, Dominican Republic
[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 14:26EDT] - Tow Wang forwarded me the following info:
Hi. I just spoke briefly with relatives in the city of Santo Domingo
(11:06 PST = 14:06 AST); they say the city is really getting heavy wind
and rain. Water is squeezing between the glass panes of the apartment
windows and flooding the inside, and the wind makes a loud hollering
sound. They see a lot of debris on the streets. According to local
estimates, the eye of the hurricane will be closest to the city at 14:30
AST.
I guess most of the concrete buildings and houses are resisting the
winds pretty well, but I'm afraid not the same can be said or expected
from weaker housing structures. All I can do is hope for the best for my
relatives and friends there.
[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 14:15EDT] - Ann Hoff-Fanaian reporting from Santiago, Dominican Republic:
Santiago, Tuesday September 22, 2:02 p.m.
It's dark, we are now using our generator, no lights but we have the news
on. The President, Leonel Fernandez, just spoke to the nation and says we
are prepared to face this horrific ordeal. There will be lodging and food
for all who will need it.
More clouds, more rain in Santiago, Northern region, and I can't picture
the eye of the hurricane's next stop. It could go south of the Central
Mountain range and into San Juan region or north of the range, and head
towards us directly.
No lines to the east, La Romana was hit quite hard. The eye was located
at 1 p.m. at 18.6N 69.5 E and the San Juan Puerto Rico radar can't
continue following the eye because it's out of range.
We aren't sure how many hours we have left in terms of using the phone
lines, hope you get this message.
We heard the airplanes were flown yesterday to Barahona, south of the
country, and now there's fear George will head right at them.
Also, the Governor of the Las Americas International Airport informed
there is great damage to windows at the Airport (near Santo Domingo).
Rain has picked up considereably here in the north......
Ann Hoff-Fanaian
Santiago, Dominican Republic
[Tue, 22 Sep 1998 13:40EDT] - Victor Russo reporting from the Dominican Republic:
ONLY a COUPLE of Minutes, winds affecting us 120 miles an hour all
trees in the ground still one telephone line and the best server
OSCARBBS still alive
you have to see it to believe it,it makes a horrible sound,my wife is
yelling at me
asking to turn the pc off..see you..
Earlier reports have been moved to this page.
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