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| Hurricane Earl Rips Through the Islands |
| By Geno Marcello - Special to The Observer |
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Uprooted tree in Nevis |
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An angry hurricane named Earl, accompanied by three reported earthquakes that rocked Dominica and turned the sky yellow, spun through the Leeward Islands with over 135-mile-an hour winds and driving rainstorms that uprooted big trees, ripped roofs off houses, upended boats, caused power outages and flooded low lying areas of all the islands in its path.
Incredibly, no deaths or major injuries were reported in St. Kitts, Nevis or any of the other Leeward, British or U.S. Virgin Islands that were ravaged by the powerful hurricane. Several observers reported the hurricane turned the seas violent and sent waves cascading five stories into the sky.
As residents along America's east coast prepared for Earl's arrival -- it was expected to reach the Carolinas and the Eastern seaboard late Thursday -- local residents and authorities began the task of cleaning up the debris left by the Category 3 Hurricane that continued moving toward the United States at a steady 17 miles per hour.
The hurricane actually reached a storm intensity of Category 4 early Wednesday before losing some of its strength and falling to a Category 3. But this was just a fluctuation according to National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read who said the winds were expected to increase in force over the next 48 hours as it approached land.
CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers compared the power of Earl to Hurricane Katrina which nearly devastated America's Gulf Coast in 2003.
Residents of Antigua, Saba, Anguilla, Dominica, St. Barth, St. Maarten-St. Martin, Barbuda, Montserrat and St. Eustatius told similar stories of Earl's destructive power. They said the heavy winds downed trees, knocked out power lines, demolished gardens, flooded roads in low-lying areas, tore boats from their moorings and otherwise wreaked havoc on the islands.
Authorities and private owners beached some boats to save them from damage, including two Coast Guard vessels operated by St. Kitts and Nevis.
While stories of damage and rescues were pouring in, one of the most interesting firsthand report came from Lisette Stevens, a resident of Dominica
Ms. Stevens revealed on a website that at least three earthquakes struck the island Sunday night and Monday morning, one measuring 2.7 on the Richter Scale.
Stevens said her house shook from the earth tremors around 9;49 and 9:50 p.m. Sunday. She woke up Monday morning to see an incredible sight -- a 'really weird yellow sky with white clouds surrounded by purple.' It was unknown at press time if the earthquakes caused any damage.
After rampaging through the Leeward and Virgin Islands, Hurricane Earl moved on, passing northeast of the Bahamas Wednesday and hitting several islands including San Salvador in the Central Bahamas. Powerful winds kept the celebrated U.S. Navy's Second Fleet ship, the USS Cole, from arriving in Norfolk, Va. on schedule.
While cruise ships throughout the eastern Caribbean were diverted to safer courses and air flights were canceled throughout the region, Sen. Ricky Skerritt, Minister of Tourism and International Transport, said the Federation was 'open for business to tourists' and that St. Kitts and Nevis had escaped with minimal damage.
The hurricane passed over 100 miles to the north east of the federation. A major cleanup campaign was underway to rid the streets of downed cedar trees, roadside debris and other clutter that the storm left behind.
Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport and Port Zante closed temporarily and were reopened Tuesday morning for business.
Ugo Gagliardi, president of the Royal Beach Casino, said the property was not harmed, although the storm did some damage to the trees.
The Observer tried unsuccessfully to get a statement from management at the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis to see how it weathered the storm. The resort has been closed for some time after sustaining serious damage from another hurricane and is scheduled to re-open in December.
Marshall's Restaurant, a prominent St. Kitts eatery, reportedly suffered wind and water damage and was closed temporarily for repairs.
Government offices and schools in Anguilla were closed. A resident reported that 'ice is getting hard to find and there are no ATMs or credit cards operating.' He said three service stations on the small island were closed and that only one or two pumps were working at another. He also said some residents were having problems using their cell phones.
Although these reports are incomplete, The Observer learned the following:
- A house on the side of a hill above Sandy Ground had most of its roof torn off.
- While many commercial boats were beached in the Federation, at least one sank on its mooring.
- Beaches in the Leeward Islands sustained extensive erosion and will need to be replaced.
- After cancellling several flights, Winair resumed its service to Statia and St. Barths Tuesday morning and planned to increase its flights late Tuesday.
- Several boats were wrecked in Dominica, including a Coast Guard vessel, and were strewn along the beaches. One resident criticized the decision to leave the boats anchored and said, 'They should have been beached.'
- Most of the residents of St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Barth, Guadalupe, Antigua and Anguilla were left without power.
- One home was destroyed in Antigua and the eight inhabitants were rescued by emergency workers after seven inches of rain fell, flooding the lowlands.
The British Virgin Islands lost the roof of its Customs house in Road Town, Tortola and several business places in Anegada in the British Virgin Islands suffered serious damage.
- Nevis residents lost their electricity early Monday morning, but it was restored along with the cable Internet after several hours by hard-working employees of NEVLEC and LIME.
A spokesman for the National Hurricane Center described Earl as the 'seventh depression, fifth storm, third hurricane and second major hurricane of 2010.' He also said Earl is the 'first Cape Verde-type of hurricane to hit the Leeward Islands since Hurricane Georges.' |
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