The Caribbean Hurricane Page

Updates from the Islands

- - St.Thomas (USVI) - -

• From: Steve Walker <sog AT viaccess.net>
• Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 22:59:46 -0300

http://www.pinepeaceschool.k12.vi/rafflehome.html

• From: "D. WATSON" <dougovi AT viaccess.net>
• Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 18:25:34 -0300

Our local Virgin Island Weather & Storm site address has been changed  to
http://www.StormVI.com  .......................Please update your bookmarks
for the upcoming season! ....  however, the original SEACARIBE address will
always work.   ........*note: there are many graphics on this site, they are
updated once a day and three times a day if a storm approaches! the first
time this site loads on your PC it might take up to 90 seconds +... and
after that it usually takes about 20 seconds +.......... your patience is
appreciated ......this site is best viewed in 1024x768 pixels and a 56k
modem or better . The page is a public sevice to the residents of the
Northern Leeward Islands and thier friends and families in the states .
....thank you   Doug Watson

• From: "james jordan" <huckphotovi AT hotmail.com>
• Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 15:14:35 PST

PRESS RELEASE FOR YOUR
INFORMATION
NEW VIRGIN ISLANDS WEB SITE



LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER HUCK JORDAN HAS LAUNCHED

A NON COMMERCIAL WEB SITE HOSTING A COLLECTION OF HIS

VIRGIN ISLAND IMAGES CARIBBEAN AND WORLD NEWS WEATHER AND LINKS TO CULINARY 
TOPICS, TECHNICAL

INFORMATION MUSIC AND SPIRITUAL WRITINGS.

INCULDED ARE ARCHIVAL ROLEX PHOTOS HURRICANE

PHOTOS AND DOWN ISLAND GALLERIES.

UPDATED INFORMATION ON CORT REGATTA

YACHT RACING SERIES WITH LOCAL WEATHER UPDATES.



HTTP://MEMBERS.THEGLOBE.COM/HUCKPHOTOVI
FOR THE MAIN PAGE

HTTP://MEMBERS.THEGLOBE.COM/HUCKPHOTOVI/SAIL.HTML
FOR THE SAILING PAGE



E-MAIL     HUCKPHOTOVI AT THEGLOBE.COM



______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

• From: "james jordan" <huckphotovi AT hotmail.com>
• Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 15:14:35 PST

PRESS RELEASE FOR YOUR
INFORMATION
NEW VIRGIN ISLANDS WEB SITE



LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER HUCK JORDAN HAS LAUNCHED

A NON COMMERCIAL WEB SITE HOSTING A COLLECTION OF HIS

VIRGIN ISLAND IMAGES CARIBBEAN AND WORLD NEWS WEATHER AND LINKS TO CULINARY 
TOPICS, TECHNICAL

INFORMATION MUSIC AND SPIRITUAL WRITINGS.

INCULDED ARE ARCHIVAL ROLEX PHOTOS HURRICANE

PHOTOS AND DOWN ISLAND GALLERIES.

UPDATED INFORMATION ON CORT REGATTA

YACHT RACING SERIES WITH LOCAL WEATHER UPDATES.



HTTP://MEMBERS.THEGLOBE.COM/HUCKPHOTOVI
FOR THE MAIN PAGE

HTTP://MEMBERS.THEGLOBE.COM/HUCKPHOTOVI/SAIL.HTML
FOR THE SAILING PAGE



E-MAIL     HUCKPHOTOVI AT THEGLOBE.COM



______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

• From: "james jordan" <huckphotovi AT hotmail.com>
• Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 06:46:15 PST

hello from the virgin islands...
    happy hollidays!

NEW SITES WITH PHOTOGRAPHY LINKS...
     http://members.theglobe.com/huckphotovi/digitalimaging.html
     pages are image intensive so be patient
THIS IS THE BACK DOOR TO THE MAIN PAGE WITH A PHOTOGRAPHY FOCUS
main page is...
     http://members.theglobe.com/huckphotovi
LOTS OF NEW IMAGES AND LINKS
     FUNNY WHAT A SCANNER CAN DO?

     e mail at   huckphotovi AT hotmail.com
     OR          huckphotovi AT theglobe.com
                   best wishes for the holidays
                            huck jordan
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

• From: "james jordan" <huckphotovi AT hotmail.com>
• Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 06:46:15 PST

hello from the virgin islands...
    happy hollidays!

NEW SITES WITH PHOTOGRAPHY LINKS...
     http://members.theglobe.com/huckphotovi/digitalimaging.html
     pages are image intensive so be patient
THIS IS THE BACK DOOR TO THE MAIN PAGE WITH A PHOTOGRAPHY FOCUS
main page is...
     http://members.theglobe.com/huckphotovi
LOTS OF NEW IMAGES AND LINKS
     FUNNY WHAT A SCANNER CAN DO?

     e mail at   huckphotovi AT hotmail.com
     OR          huckphotovi AT theglobe.com
                   best wishes for the holidays
                            huck jordan
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

• From: "jhiggins" <jhigginswear AT islands.vi>
• Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 08:00:15 -0400

• From: "jhiggins" <jhigginswear AT islands.vi>
• Date: Sun, 21 Nov 1999 13:57:49 -0400

• From: "angelone" <angelone AT islands.vi>
• Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 13:06:58 -0400

Coast guard just brought a crew member in to St. Croix airport that they
found in a raft at 9;30 this morning . He had been drifting for over 36 hrs,
but is in good condition. He was on a sailboat that was out of St. Martin
that went down. One other person was on the boat that went down and is still
missing..from French St. Martin.Rescued sailor  is reported to be native of
Brazil, but lived on St. Martin.

• From: "angelone" <angelone AT islands.vi>
• Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 12:49:42 -0400

Airport opened again just a little while ago .. it is opening and
closing..but I am looking at the airport now 12:30 and no planes around
...only about 4 planes tied down ...at private airport...no seaplanes until
Tuesday..due to dock damage.. situation keeps changing..but no American
flights no seaplane until at least Tuesday..Donna

• From: "angelone" <angelone AT islands.vi>
• Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 12:37:31 -0400

We had more rain and gust of winds overnight ..my power went out for a few
hours ..the airport opened early this morning , then American announced they
would not be flying here today ..shortly after the St. Thomas airport was
closed..it is very overcast ..some rain and winds continue local weather
just reported at 12:00 this will probably continue until Sunday..but most
everything is back to normal ...public schools are closed doing clean up
today..college is back to regular schedule...hotel all fine..Tillet is
planning concert tonight..I just talked to some friends that were planning
to fly out this morning and they felt it was probably best they closed the
airport .Pilots reported a lot of turbulence and believed the gust made it
dangerous to land here.donna

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 11:12:55 -0500 (EST)

>Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 10:20:58 -0400
>From: Linda Barr <lbarr AT uvi.edu>
>Subject: Status of Hotels in USVI
>
>here is the text of the Press Release stating the status of hotels in
>St. Thomas and St. Croix and St. John
>
>
>                   MARTIN PR: USVI WEATHERS
>                   HURRICANE LENNY
>
>                        U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, NOVEMBER 18, 1999, 4:30 p.m.
>EST ­
>                   Initial assessments of Hurricane Lenny's overall
>effect on the U.S. Virgin
>                   Islands' tourism industry are more positive than first
>anticipated given the
>                   storm's category-four rating.
>                        With maximum winds of 150 mph, Hurricane Lenny
>posed a major
>                   threat to the U.S. Virgin Islands and other Caribbean
>islands in the Lesser
>                   Antilles during the last 48 hours.
>                        While St. Croix experienced more effects of the
>hurricane than its sister
>                   islands - St. Thomas and St. John - preliminary
>reports indicate that damage
>                   to the islands' hotels is minor, limited mostly to
>some beach erosion and
>                   landscape and water damage.
>                        Many hotels will be accepting guests tomorrow on
>all three islands.
>                   While hotels and tourism-related businesses are
>reporting no structural
>                   damage, one exception in the tourism infrastructure is
>St. Croix's Ann
>                   Abramson pier in Frederiksted, which has sustained
>some damage.
>                        There have been no official reports of
>hurricane-related deaths in the
>                   U.S. Virgin Islands.
>                        St. Thomas' Cyril E. King airport reopened today
>at 9:15 a.m. and the
>                   Henry L. Rohlsen airport on St. Croix is expected to
>reopen tomorrow. St.
>                   Thomas' world-famous shopping district in Main Street
>will also be open for
>                   business tomorrow.
>                        Most power has been restored on the three
>islands, and telephone lines
>                   are up and operable. Governor Charles W. Turnbull has
>maintained
>                   telephone communications with officials from all three
>islands throughout the
>                   storm.
>                        President Clinton, who is traveling in Turkey,
>has declared the territory
>                   an emergency area in response to Governor Turnbull's
>request for
>                   authorization of Federal relief and recovery
>assistance, a standard
>                   procedure in these circumstances.
>                        Some erroneous and false reports of devastation
>have appeared
>                   occasionally in the national media. These false
>reports are caused by
>                   inaccurate rumors that have been picked up by some
>media and
>                   unfortunately distributed. Erroneous reports and false
>statements have been
>                   circulated about the King Christian Hotel on St. Croix
>losing its roof. The
>                   general manager of the property, Jeanine Bettertone,
>confirmed that there
>                   was no structural damage to the hotel whatsoever.
>
>                        Below are the latest island-by-island updates for
>specific USVI hotels
>                   and resorts*:
>
>                        St. Croix
>
>                        Chenay Bay Beach Resort: The resort sustained no
>structural damage to
>                   the hotel. There was only minor landscape damage to
>the property. Some
>                   trees are defoliated and broken, but they were not
>uprooted in the storm.
>                   The phone lines are operable. General manager Peter
>Locke attributed the
>                   resilience of most of the islands' buildings to higher
>building code standards
>                   implemented after Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
>
>                        King's Alley Hotel: Hotel owner and president of
>the St. Croix Hotel
>                   and Tourism Association, Peter Ross enthusiastically
>reported no structural
>                   damage to this property located in downtown
>Christiansted. He said that the
>                   phone lines are operable, and the landscape should be
>repaired in a few
>                   days. "I can't believe it. We're fine," Ross said with
>excitement. "We will
>                   begin doing lots of clean up today, but we should be
>up and running in a day
>                   or so."
>
>                        King Christian Hotel: General manager Jeanine
>Bettertone reported
>                   that there was no structural damage to the hotel. [The
>erroneous reports of
>                   the hotel losing its roof in the storm is believed to
>have started with a VI
>                   resident calling a local radio station to say what she
>thought she had seen
>                   occur during the storm. Unfortunately, the inaccurate
>report was picked up
>                   by the national news media and erroneously distributed
>through outlets in the
>                   United States.] The hotel had some water in the rooms,
>which is currently
>                   being removed.
>
>                        Hibiscus Beach Hotel: This St. Croix hotel
>sustained minimal water
>                   accumulation on its floors and will be cleaned up
>quickly. The rooms have
>                   tile floors and can be easily mopped. The property is
>scheduled to reopen
>                   on Monday.
>
>                        Divi Carina Bay resort: Allen Mallory of this new
>St. Croix resort said
>                   that the property sustained some beach erosion and had
>minimal water in
>                   some guestrooms. All roofs over the guestrooms are
>intact, and no public
>                   areas were damaged. Power has been restored, and the
>resort will be
>                   renting rooms to guests tomorrow.
>
>                        Hotel Caravelle: This waterfront property in
>Christiansted had minimal
>                   water damage on the first floor. Clean up efforts are
>expected to be
>                   completed in the next day or two.
>
>                        Cormorant Beach Club and Hotel: The hotel
>sustained some damage.
>                   Reports indicated that some windows were blown out by
>the storm.
>                   Clean-up has begun.
>
>                        Tamarind Reef Hotel: The property will reopen on
>Monday.
>
>                        Seaview Farm Inn: The property sustained no
>structural damage, and is
>                   operating as normal.
>
>                        Cane Bay Reef Club: The property sustained no
>structural damage.
>
>                        Colony Cove Resorts: These condominiums sustained
>no structural
>                   damage, and are operating and up and running.
>
>                        Sugar Beach: This condominium sustained no
>structural damage, and is
>                   operating and up and running.
>
>                        Club St. Croix: The condominium sustained no
>structural damage, and is
>                   operating and up and running.
>
>                        Waves at Cane Bay: The property sustained no
>structural damage.
>
>                        Sprat Hall Plantation: The property sustained no
>structural damage.
>
>                        Cottages by the Sea: The property sustained no
>structural damage.
>
>                        On the Beach: The property sustained no
>structural damage.
>
>                        St. John
>
>                        Westin Resort, St. John: The resort has sustained
>no structural damage
>                   and was at its full capacity throughout the storm. The
>resort staff is currently
>                   conducting a clean-up of the grounds to remove normal
>storm debris.
>                   Guests will have food service by this evening, and the
>Coccoloba and Beach
>                   Café restaurants will be open tomorrow. The property
>will remain open and
>                   will offer its full range of services by Saturday
>morning.
>
>                        Beach Villa, Gift Hill Villa and Villa
>Bougainvillea: Donald Schnell,
>                   owner of several villas on St. John, said the island
>is in good condition and
>                   clean-up efforts will begin today. Digital photos of
>St. John will soon be
>                   available on his Web site at www.donaldschnell.com.
>
>                        St. Thomas
>                        Bluebeard's Beach Club & Villas: This hotel
>located on the island's
>                   south side sustained some beach erosion, but no
>structural damage.
>
>                        Bolongo Bay Beach Club & Villas: The resort has
>sustained no
>                   structural damage, only minor cosmetic damage to the
>property's vegetation.
>                   Clean-up will be completed in the next 48 hours. All
>of the resort's features
>                   will continue to be offered and have been unaffected
>by Hurricane Lenny.
>
>                        Marriott Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Resorts:
>The properties
>                   sustained no structural damage and only minor
>landscaping damage.
>                   Morning Star's beach sustained some beach erosion as a
>result of the storm.
>
>
>                        Point Pleasant Resort: The property sustained no
>structural damage,
>                   and is currently welcoming guests.
>
>                        Renaissance Grand Beach Resort: The property has
>sustained no
>                   structural damage, and is operating as normal.
>
>                        The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas: The hotel sustained
>no structural
>                   damage.
>
>                        Sapphire Beach Resort: The resort sustained no
>structural damage, and
>                   only minor landscape damage and beach erosion.
>Approximately 165 guests
>                   are on the property occupying 62 rooms.
>
>                        Secret Harbour Beach Resort & Villas: The
>property has sustained no
>                   structural damage.
>
>                        Wyndham Sugar Bay: There was no structural damage
>to the property;
>                   only minor landscape damage. Full power is available
>and guests are
>                   receiving satellite feeds in their rooms. Wyndham is
>currently welcoming
>                   guests.
>

• From: "angelone" <angelone AT islands.vi>
• Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 14:22:39 -0400

I wanted to second Linda's message . Very little damage on St.
Thomas...everything is very green , beaches are okay..I spent the storm in
town and at times yesterday it was very hard to believe a monster was so
close..we had power most of the time ..I didn't see any damage as I drove
home from town west to Fortuna, more leaves and branches from Jose than
Lenny..fruit trees all fine here..talked to friends on the East end and they
report the same..Thanking God and prayers for those still threatened by
Lenny ..

• From: "Linda Robinson Barr" <lbarr AT uvi.edu>
• Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 11:45:46 -0400

Hi all, apologies for any duplications.  Please pass this information on.
WE don't need more misinformation screwing up our tourism here on St. Thomas
and St. Croix!

I submitted the following feedback/complaint to www.reuters.com   if you can
please do the same (after you look at the article!)

Your release located on Yahoo news at
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991118/ts/weather_lenny.html
is VERY MISLEADING to the point of a complete error.
The US Virgin Islands did NOT get hit as hard as it sounds like here.  More
importantly, the PHOTO you have listed next to this news release isn't
identified as to where it is and it IS NOT here in the USVI.  It will lead
to the assumption it is here since the dateline is Charlotte AMalie.  PLEASE
PLEASE don't do the USVI a disservice with this information. Our tourism
can't take the hit!  We're all fine and St. Thomas will be back to normal
business tomorrow. PLEASE CORRECT THIS ITEM!

Linda Robinson Barr
St. Thomas VI  00802
ICQ 705627

• From: Herman van der Heide <boo AT viaccess.net>
• Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 08:40:45 -0400

The aftermath of hurricane 'Lenny' has literally become a 'breeze' here at the house (see attached files 'house.jpg' and 'detail.jpg' below).  House overlooking the located on the south side of St. Thomas, 3/4 up the hill (800 ft) and overlooking Crown Bay Marina and Water Island.

Power has been on and off during the night and just came back on this morning at around 06:30.  Very convenient and considerate of the local power company.

Local radio keeps broadcasting reports from people in St. Croix that has suffered an onslaught of hurricane force winds for an amazing 13 hours.  Despite this long period of H-force winds, the damage is NOT comparable to the destruction hurricane 'Hugo' caused in St. Croix in 1989.
The reports that came in during the night and this morning all tell of scattered destruction instead of the reports of 'near-total' destruction that started to seep in after 'Hugo'.

All yachts previously anchored / moored in 'Elephant Bay', 'Long Bay' and at the 'cut' at Frenchtown still there.  Very, very lucky!!!

'Lenny' seems to have stalled and was at 05:00 located 83 nm ESE of St. Thomas (see attached file 'smlscale.jpg' below).
It is still a very dangerous hurricane, capable of widespread destruction on the island in its path.  Don't pray, but thoughts are with Anguilla, St. Martin. Barbuda, Antigua and St. Barts.
'lrgscale.jpg' shows "Lenny's" track through the Caribbean and its forecast track out of the area.  Whenever that will be.

Local governor on radio this morning announced the end of curfew (12:00 / noon today) might be extended due to the fact 'Lenny' is exiting the are soo slowly.  Apparently, St. Croix is still experiencing winds of tropical storm force.

Power at the house still on!

Will be taking off / down the shutters this morning at the house as landlady, with broken (but healing now) foot, can do with some daylight.

Herman
 
 
 

• From: Wen <webwriter AT islands.vi>
• Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 08:30:41 -0400

Well, I expected to bail some water, clean up the salad explosion on my
driveway and assess the damage to my schedule today....

Guess not.  According to the morning reports, this monster is stalled
out just 50 miles east of St. Croix and under 100 miles from us.  This,
of course, means it's still stormy here.  The Governor is thinking of
reinstating curfew, instead of lifting it at noon today. I was hoping I
would only lose a day, (never mind prep and clean up time) however, that
seems like a pipe dream now.  I guess there is nothing to do but wait
and  I am SOOOO known for my patience, ha! Upon waking up this morning,
I expected to find a worn, but calm island outside my door.  Instead,
the wind is still pretty strong and the feeder bands are
still racing across the sky in the wrong direction.  The waves at Magens

are still flowing the wrong way as well.  The power was on again and off

again throughout the night, coming back and holding (for now) at about
5am. We aren't in any serious danger, unless "Left Field Lenny" changes
direction AGAIN.  Of course if it continutes to sit on us, we'll
probably break anchor and the whole island will drift out to sea. ha!
Anyway, I'm absolutley fine, just tired of Lenny.  I would guess that
sentiment is Territory wide.  Still sending positive energy St. Martin
and Saba way, they've got it much worse than we do.

• From: Herman van der Heide <boo AT viaccess.net>
• Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 21:32:47 -0400

On the "Live Radio" page mentioned in my previous message, one can find local radio stations from caribbean islands that broadcast "live" on the Internet as well:

- Click on "Americas" under the header "Navigate TvRadioWorld"

On the following page:
- Then click on "Caribbean" under the header "NORTH AMERICA"

On the following page:
- Select the island of choice under the header "Index By Island"

'Anguilla', 'Antigua and Barbuda', 'Saint Kitts and Nevis' and 'Saint Martin's" radio stations should be helpful in the upcoming night (and days).

Herman

• From: "Vince Bitowf" <vince.bitowf AT gte.net>
• Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 21:25:20 -0400

My parents weren't able to call me because the circuits were all busy, but I
could call out without a problem.  The storm doesn't seem too bad.  It is
too far away to be severe, although I have heard that it did a lot of damage
in St. Croix.  The power is back on since about 18:00 AST, so it must be
nearly over.  The electricity is on for all of the island that I can see.
The wind was at it's strongest at about 20:00, but the surf is much lower.
There doesn't seem to have been any significant damage that I can see,
although I haven't had a chance to drive around the island.

• From: Herman van der Heide <boo AT viaccess.net>
• Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 21:06:43 -0400

For those people who have access to the Internet ;-), the following website gives access to the Virgin Islands radio stations that transmit live on the Internet:

http://www.tvradioworld.com/region1/vir/Radio_TV_on_Internet.asp

Good way to keep in touch.

Herman