What is going on in Jamaica?

[sparky]

I have found a few sites that may help keep us informed on what is going on in Jamaca. Here is a post from the Director of Environmental Affairs at Montego Bay. Will add more as i get more information. Folks PLEASE pray for these folks i am reading that there are very low numbers of folks going to the shelters (300 last count) so these folks are really going to be in harms way tonight. Many fear this will be worse than Gilbert. Some are calling Ivan the son of Gilbert.Hello Gert;

I am Richard, and I live in Montego Bay. Whilst we are not sure how much longer we have electricity and telephone services, I'd just like to say that at 2:50pm EST Montego Bay is heavily overcast with mild to moderate wind gusting and sporadic but frequent rain squalls and medium intensity showers. There are still a few vehicles still on the road but they seem to be hurrying to wherever they are going.I am directly overlooking the Sangster Intl. Airport and have a 180 degree view of the coastline from my home. The seas are already looking a little more choppy than they were this morning and I guess with the hurricane this close one should expect this. Driving through by the sea this morning the water was calm and was like a sheet of glass ... never have I seen the water in Montego Bay that calm, never. It gives and eerie feeling of what is to come when the ocean wakes up later this evening. Our local news channel TVJ showed footage of 18+ foot waves in Kingston (the anticipated point of landfall for the eye if Ivan continues on it current path). The entire island is having rain and the Prime Minister has requested that the Governor General declares a state of emergency asap.

All said, I think for those of us who remember Gilbert we have an idea of what to expect - bearing in mind that Ivan's sustained winds are as strong as Gilbert's gusts at the time! For the rest of the country where there seems to be stubborn persons, we may have a few persons who will learn the hard way and even more sadly who may not be around to put into practice what they may learn from Ivan.

Richard May
Director - Environmental Affairs
Sandals Resorts International
5 Kent Avenue, Montego Bay
Jamaica, WI

[stormy]

This is so sad, i will pray for these people.

[StingRay]

Stormy, you are so right. These poor people. Sparky had told me she was going to try and keep up with what was going on there, I can't even imagine what it's like.

[sparky]

Out of 2.7 million people there 500,000 were told to evacuate and only 300 have shown up in shelters across the island. They even have a pleas for help link for posting missing relatives and friends. Just makes you want to cry!

[stormy]

keep us posted sparky, anybody in the track of this thing need to get out of Ivans way hes a bad one. Just like ticka said Ivan the terrible. this is one i am glad i am not chasing.

[sparky]

Power106 continues to broadcast over the net. Friday evening 5PM newscast
notes: Many citizens have refused to seek shelter and otherwise follow
directives of public officials. The Prime Minister has declared a "State of
Public Emergency" to last one month in which citizens's "freedom of
assembly", "freedom from search", "freedom of movement", and "other
freedoms" will be suspended. Much discension and division among the
citizenry. Numerous roads on the island are blocked by fallen trees,
flooding and high seas. Hanover Bridge blocked by bamboo trees that have
"washed into the mouth of the bridge." Power has been shut off on the island
by JPS. One man being treated for gunshot wounds that occurred in a
shelter. Water supply in some areas already being disrupted. KPH hospital
has moved patients to more secure area as roof is leaking. Hospital working
with skeleton staff and attempts to reduce patient population by half were
not very successful. Cell phones systems expected to fail. Port Royal
residents are refusing to leave because they have faith that God will
protect them. Port Royal is especially vulnerable to storm surge. In
Dominican Republic four children swept to sea and killed by high waves from
Ivan who was over 200 miles away. Citizens warned repeatedly that the worst
conditions are yet to come. Jamacian meteorologist estimates current winds
in Jamaica at 140km (87 mph).

[sparky]

ISSUED BY: Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA)
DATE: September 10, 2004
TIME: 6:00 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Barbados, Sep 10, 2004 (CDERA) – Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has declared a
state of emergency ahead of the impact of dangerous category four Hurricane
Ivan.

Although at 5.00pm the centre was located 80 miles south east of Jamaica Ivan
outer rain bands had started to affect the country. Coastal areas in St. Thomas
experienced tidal surges. Two houses have been washed away in the Logan Avenue,
Duhaney Pen area of Morant Bay, St. Thomas. A section of main road has been
washed away in the vicinity of Duhaney Pen and Roselle. In Trelawny , sections
of the Falmouth & Salt Marsh main roads are blocked. There were also reports of
flooding in the Bogue Industrial Estate, Montego Bay in the vicinity of the
sewage facility in the area.

Some sections of the island are without power.

More than 500,000 people were evacuated and are now being housed in 21 shelters
across six parishes.

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) has activated its Regional
Response Mechanism which will provide support to the Emergency Operations
Centre (EOC) in Jamaica should the need arise. CDERA has also put its Caribbean
Disaster Response Unit (CDRU) on standby to assist the Government of Jamaica in
relief management and reconstruction if requested.

[Canefan_of_the_gatorland]

Here are some links to Messageboards and info For Jamaica...

Jamaican Weather Service
http://www.metservice.gov.jm/

Jamaica Radar
http://www.metservice.gov.jm/radarpage.asp

Jamaican Messageboard...
http://www.golocaljamaica.com/forum.php

Another Jamaica Messageboard..,
http://www.stormcarib.com/reports/2004/jamaica.shtml

[longtalltexan79]

Many citizens have refused to seek shelter and otherwise follow
directives of public officials.

One man being treated for gunshot wounds that occurred in a
shelter.

It's sad that the people won't listen to the government to go to the shelters...

I also wonder what brought on that man being shot in the shelter...that statement popped out at me as I was reading this...sounds like chaos has begun there...

[sparky]

ok here is the only update i have been able to get. There is a lot of flooding in lionel town and some of the other communites will get names as soon as i can. Power is cut off Clarendon is getting hit hard now. Have a curfew Jamaicans will be detained if on the streets

Ivan is a category 5 with winds 161mph Waves have been reported two stories high. Looting in Kingston and Montogo Bay

ok getting info from a chat online will post more as i can

[sparky]

still trying to verify the 161 mph and cat 5 status was told bbc was reporting it soo if ii am wrong about it i will correct it.

[Coriolis]

At 11 - it was still a 4 and winds at 155 - to go to a cat 5 is 156mph

[StingRay]

Talking nickels and dimes here. 1 mph difference at this point is no difference at all I don't think. Catastrophic is catastrophic. When I saw sparky post about waves being two stories high, that's what? 20 feet? Talk about shock and awe.....Can you imagine seeing that come in off the water toward you???? Tsunamiville!!!!!

[sparky]

all i know is they said the bbc said winds were up to 161 so not sure i CAN"T verify so far. Wouldn't take much to be there so we shall see maybe they heard wrong.

[StingRay]

Ivan Lashes Jamaica; Death Toll Hits 37

44 minutes ago



By STEVENSON JACOBS, Associated Press Writer

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Hurricane Ivan lashed Jamaica with giant waves and winds nearing 155 mph early Saturday, but as panicked residents braced for a direct hit, the storm unexpectedly wobbled and lurched west, possibly sparing the island the worst of its fury.

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040910/thumb.xwa10509102310.jamaica_hurricane_ivan_xwa105 .jpg (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040910/481/xwa10509102310)
AP Photo (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040910/481/xwa10509102310)
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040911/thumb.ny11009110906.hurricane_ivan_ny110.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:%20rs()
AP Photo (http://javascript<b></b>:%20rs() http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/auctions/cam.gifSlideshow: Hurricanes & Tropical Storms (http://javascript<b></b>:%20rs()
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap_av/20040910/vidsthumb.0910ivan_fl.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:rs()Fla. Keys Evacuating, Peninsula Preps for Ivan (http://javascript<b></b>:rs()
(AP Video)
Related Links•Caribbean Satellite (http://weather.yahoo.com/img/carib_websattropir_440_mdy_y.html) (Yahoo! Weather)•Fla. Severe Weather Alerts (http://weather.yahoo.com/storm_center/USFL.html) (Yahoo! Weather)


The change in course could be good news for hurricane-weary Florida, since Ivan may now head off into the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters warned it could still move back to its predicted course and hit the state.



The death toll from Ivan rose to 37, the latest victim an 8-year-old boy who died Friday of head injuries sustained when the storm destroyed his home in Grenada on Tuesday. Grenada's capital, St. George's, was hit hard and thousands of people were left homeless.



Sporadic gunfire and looting was reported in Jamaica's crime-ridden capital, Kingston, but police could not confirm that and the telephone service appeared to fail as Ivan passed. Troops on high alert and carrying assault rifles patrolled the darkened city, its electricity cut to protect power plants.



The storm's winds were just below the 155 mark that would make it a Category 5, the most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The panicked capital appeared to get a minor reprieve when Ivan shifted course, though Jamaica was still battered by hurricane-force winds.



Ivan's eye "wobbled toward the west for the past few hours," bringing it within 35 miles of Kingston but keeping it off the island, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22National%20Hurricane%20Center%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=National%20Hurricane%20Center)) in Miami.



"They did get very extreme winds and there's still going to be a lot of damage, but the 155-mph winds passed south of Jamaica and did not make landfall," said Jennifer Pralgo, a meteorologist at the center.



Pralgo said Ivan still could return to a projected path that would take it over the smaller of the Cayman islands, across western Cuba and into the heart of southern Florida. As of now, it was still expected to hit Cuba.



"We're going to have to wait and see," she said. "It may come back to course."



At 5 a.m. EDT, Ivan was centered just south of Jamaica and heading northwest near 10 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended 60 miles.



The Cayman government posted a hurricane warning and urged residents of all three of its islands to prepare "as for direct impact." Cuba declared a hurricane watch Friday after its leader, Fidel Castro (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22Fidel%20Castro%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=Fidel%20Castro)), warned residents to brace themselves. "Whatever the hurricane does, we will all work together" to rebuild, he said.



In South Florida, long lines reappeared at gas stations and shoppers swarmed home building stores and supermarkets as residents braced for a third hurricane following Charley and Frances. Forecasters said Ivan could tear through the Keys as early as Monday.



Howling winds and sheets of horizontal rain crashed around Kingston in the south after Patterson declared a state of emergency and pleaded with the half million people considered in danger — about one in five islanders — to get to shelters. Most refused for fear abandoned homes would be robbed.



"I'm not saying I'm not afraid for my life but we've got to stay here and protect our things," said Lorna Brown, 49, pointing to a stove, television, cooking utensils and large bed crowded into a one-room concrete home on the beach at the northwestern resort of Montego Bay.



Meanwhile, authorities discovered more bodies along Venezuela's flooded coast and in Grenada, where the U.S. State Department was arranging for the evacuations of all Americans who wish to leave.



"When dogs interfere with garbage bags and strew the contents all over the place — that's what Grenada looks like," Trinidadian leader Patrick Manning said after visiting the island.



In Jamaica earlier, awed onlookers stood transfixed on the seaside Palisadoes Highway near Kingston's airport as 23-foot waves crashed to shore, thrusting rocks and dead tree branches more than 100 feet into the road.







"I've lived here all my life and I've never seen anything like this," said businessman Chester Pinnock, huddled under an umbrella against drenching rain.

"This is going to be disastrous. We could have hundreds dead. Hurricane Gilbert was a puppy compared to this," he said.

Gilbert, the last major storm to strike Jamaica, killed dozens of people and inflicted massive damages as a Category 3 storm in 1988.

But only 5,000 people moved into shelters, emergency management director Barbara Carby said.

In Montego Bay, the Barnett River overflowed its banks, putting some businesses four feet under water and flooding inland roads and farmlands. Drenching rain washed away the main northern coastal road, the A1, just outside Montego Bay.

The British Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond, which rushed to Grenada's rescue Wednesday, was speeding to Jamaica along with a supply ship, Commander Mike MacCartain told the BBC.

East of Jamaica, in neighboring Haiti, flooding destroyed at least two houses and damaged a dozen more, but people expressed relief they were spared further catastrophe in a year that has already brought a bloody rebellion and deadly floods.

"First we had a political hurricane, then an economic hurricane and now, with the natural hurricane, we're just glad God saved us," said Jude Vante, 32, an unemployed mason in low-lying Les Cayes, on the southern peninsula.

Ivan became the fourth major hurricane of the Atlantic Season on Sunday. It damaged dozens of homes in Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Vincent Tuesday before making a direct hit on Grenada, which it left a wasteland of flattened houses, twisted metal and splintered wood. It damaged 90 percent of homes there, tossed sailboats to shore and set off looting among some of the 100,000 residents left without electricity, water and telephone service.

Manning, the Trinidadian leader, said Grenada's priorities are establishing security to end looting; recapturing prisoners who escaped from a devastated jail; providing food, potable water, tents, blankets, and materials to rebuild; and restoring communications and electricity.

The American Red Cross (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22American%20Red%20Cross%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=American%20Red%20Cross)) disaster unit said Grenada's government has temporarily closed the country to relief shipments to ensure security. The unit's director, Doug Allen, said Grenada needs relief by Sunday to avoid a critical situation.

More than 100 Caribbean soldiers from five countries arrived Thursday to help restore order on the island of 100,000.

On Friday, Trinidadian troops patrolled the marina and shopping area around the downtown Carenage, and police Superintendent Edvin Martin reported only scattered looting.

Up to 75 convicts remained at large after about 150 of the prison's 325 inmates escaped when the storm damaged the prison.

Troops from Barbados and Trinidad guarded Grenada's airport, where dozens of American medical students waited for chartered flights home. There are an estimated 1,000 U.S. citizens on the island, most medical students at St. George's University.

Ivan has killed 26 people in Grenada, five in Venezuela, one in Tobago, one in Barbados, and four youngsters in the Dominican Republic.

___ Associated Press reporters Ian James, Harold Quash and Loren Brown in Grenada, Peter Prengaman in Jamaica, Jose Monegro in Dominican Republic, Amy Bracken in Haiti and Tony Fraser in Trinidad contributed to this report.

[sparky]

- Update from Ocho Rios
From: "Sue Warnke" <fido1223 AT hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 21:14:30 -0500

It is getting pretty rough in Upton, which is 3 km south of Ocho Rios. I
just spoke with a friend who is "roughing it out" on the coast and she said
it is very windy and they can hear the sea roaring. About 15 minutes ago the
wind and rain really picked up, although it is so dark it is hard to see
what is going on out there. Thanks to all who have called and e-mailed. I
will try to get back to all of you when this is over. From the looks of the
radar, the worst is still yet to come. The radio was announcing instances of
looting in Kingston, Spanish Town and Montego Bay and they are predicting
that we will be under these storm conditions until tomorrow at 6 pm. This
will probably be my last post until tomorrow, if we still have phone lines.

[StingRay]

So this was at 9:14 and they have to go through this for another approximate 21 hours? Pure terror..............

[longtalltexan79]

I would be out of my mind with fear if I was in the middle of that horror...the island is practically ingulfed by the storm right now...that island is the epitome of hell on earth right now and I feel for everyone of those people...

161mph winds...i can't even fathome what that would be like to go through...

[sparky]

After i left WOW last night i listened FINALLY to 106 in Jamaica and guys these folks sounded so CALM. People calling in sayng that folks were trying to get to shelters in the height of the storm mind you this is 1AM EST and some called in to the station saying that their roofs were tearing off as they were on the phone. NOW that being said if i was in that situation no whiskey or tekila could keep me that calm. I freak in storms as it is HOW can they stay so calm. What kind of drugs are they on. Really nice though that they were praying so much they sure needed it.