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My recollections of Hurricane Gilbert - September 11, 1988
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This document is rather long, so I've split it into sections making it easier for you
to read only what you WANT to read:
Preparation for a storm
The Storm (The Real McCoy)
The Storm's Aftermath
Epilogue - After the storm passed
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Preparation
Top
| Real McCoy
| Aftermath
| Epilogue
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By Sunday afternoon, people still had not begun to be serious about the coming hurricane.
Weather men and meteorologists had been warning us for days, however, since it had been
over 8 years since
Ja was struck head-on by a Hurricane, no one was even listening.
I was seriously scared because I remembered Hurricane Allen of 1980 which had just barely
brushed past us on it's way to Cuba. Hurricane Allen - it was supposed to be only the
edge of it passing over the western end of the island. Right! It dumped part of the
beach into one the North Coast Hotel's ballroom - a good 300 feet away from the
shoreline. I was listening.
We had choir practice that day and what I remember most about that Sunday was how
oppressively HOT it was. And not a breeze or wind or breath of air
was stirring. Oh... it was ominous! You could just know that all hell was about to pop
loose.
After an all-day practice, I came home and helped my parents "batten" down (i.e. to secure
all light and easily displaceable objects so they wouldn't blow away). Mum was ensuring
that we would have drinking water and water to wash hands and flush toilet and such
small amenities. (hear the sarcasm?) Dad and I had equally menial tasks: tie down the
metal awning so that it wouldn't blow away; pick off as many of the fruit on the trees
as possible to minimize the number of flying missiles; place tape over all the
windows that were likely to shatter if broken by flying debris; move the veranda furniture
inside where it would be safe from the wind and rain... you know... all that stuff!
I remember looking out to the West, while I helped tie down the awning, and thinking
that the sunset was extra BEAUTIFUL today. Yeh! Right!"Ah soh
it always be before the storm lick", my parents and grandmother informed me.
In
Ja, the most beautiful sunsets signify STORM COMING. They
made sure to tell me this piece of good news.
By midnight the storm had begun. Rain, wind tearing through the trees in the yard...
basically getting scarier and scarier because you hear what's outside and you
KNOW it's only gonna get worse!
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Tired of Reading - back to top
The Real McCoy
Top
| Preparation
| Aftermath
| Epilogue
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It really did not start until about 11am the Monday. By then, the electricity had
already gone, we didn't even think to check the water (even though I know it must
have been gone also) and the telephone... don't even talk! It tore into the country
with such a vengeance, people said they thought it was the end of the world, the way
Gilbert was vicious!
We stood at our windows (which are slightly sheltered) and watched roofs, satellite dishes,
coconuts, breadfruits, zinc sheets and other debris fly past. I remember when the next
door neighbour's back veranda roof took off for parts unknown. I remember thinking:
"Wow! Looks like when you peel a banana!" and on the heels of that "Yup,
Moore! You've finally lost it!"
The most interesting part of the day was the passing of the eye... now, I don't know if
you, my dear readers, have EVER experienced a hurricane;
BUT - the eye is the most bizarre of the whole experience. After
the storm has raged for an hour or more (Gilbert's first wave lasted approximately
3 hours), the skies get blue and clear, the sun shines, the air is breezy if not
calm and the air is fresh - just like after a summer rain -
BEAUTIFUL! However, you remember what I said before about the "Beautiful
Sunsets"? Well, the eye is just as deceptive. For up to an hour, the weather
turns beautiful - perfect beach weather. THEN - BOOM! The
storm comes back with a vengeance - like it wasn't even here before - like what
came before the eye was chicken feed... like all that was REALLY
just a summer rain! Man! What a WAKE-UP CALL.
Even though it didn't stop raining continuously for another 2 days, the storm
actually finished by the evening of the 11th. After 24 hours, Gilbert had passed on
his way. What were the statistics? Maximum sustained winds of 100+ mph and gusts up to
200 mph! Yeah! Hurricane Gilbert was one VICIOUS mother!
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Tired of Reading - back to top
Aftermath
Top
| Preparation
| Real McCoy
| Epilogue
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The rain continued continuously until Thursday. No electricity; no water; no
telephone; can't leave the house; 6 of us cooped up together eating cornmeal porridge
and tinned corned beef (known as bully beef). Eventually, we were able to eat
stove-roasted breadfruit - not the same as open-fire roasting, but it was a welcome
change from the cornmeal porridge.
I remember my father venturing outside a few times - to the despair of both myself
and my mother as even though the storm had basically passed, there was still a
lot of rain and some wind. Not anything like during the storm, but dangerous enough
to be concerned at his apparent lack of personal safety. Nothing happened to him -
except for getting thoroughly wet.
A friend came to visit me on Thursday morning. He told us that his roof had left them
totally without any means of support. Gone off with the charm of the storm. Their
house was totalled; and the family of 6 was living in the downstairs portion of
the house. Oh - did I mention that there was one bedroom on the ground floor? And that
the living room and dining room had been flooded properly - especially the
sunken and carpeted living room.
We both left to go visit my boyfriend at the time and to generally drive around and
take in some of the damage.
Dear readers, I want to tell you that my brain never retained the images of the path
of destruction. I vaguely remember houses without roofs; trees lying in the roads and
on top of utility poles; debris all over the roads; water
EVERYWHERE; utility poles downed; people walking around -
dazed, looking stupid, trying to salvage what they could out of the debris.
I remember some people never got electricity until months afterward. I remember the
excitement when we got ours - not a month after the passing of Gilbert. I remember
the chorus of yells that rose out of the neighbourhood - because, one month without
electricity is a NIGHTMARE. Imagine, a cold drink was like
gold and ice was a phenomenon.
I remember that we got water back after the week and that some people's water
supply has never been the same since.
I remember that people said it was the worse hurricane to ever hit the country. And I
also remember my grandmother being so traumatized that she developed shingles (a
relation to chicken pox, brought on by stress - and very uncomfortable for the
sufferer) despite living through a number of other storms - including Hurricane
Charlie of the 1950s. I remember that I myself was never the same person again.
Most startlingly, I realize how much of an impact this thing must have had seeing as
though almost a whole 10 years later, I can still remember it like it was last week
and shiver like it was yesterday.
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Epilogue
Top
| Preparation
| Real McCoy
| Aftermath
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Almost 10 years after Gilbert shook his tail and left (respect Paul Keenes),
Ja
is still suffering from the effects of his vengeance. Our plantain crops have never
been the same. I still was seeing leaning utility poles up to about 2-3 years ago.
Three weeks ago, I went up to Cinchona (a little paradise in the foothills of
the Blue Mountains) and on the way, we could see trees felled during the Hurricane and
never cleared away.
Time is measured in respect to Gilbert:
"Remember when I was ....", says one.
"When was that? Before or after Gilbert?" says the other.
Agriculture still trying to recover. People still trying to
recover. And the economy - of course, the problems with the economy have very little
if anything to do with Hurricane Gilbert. Even though people do say that "nothing
has ever been the same again since Gilbert".
Every year, people start to get paranoid when hurricane season comes round. Two years
ago, we had a threat from Hurricane Marco which looked like it was heading
in our direction. People panicking all over the place - buying tinned goods, candles,
kerosene, dry goods, electric generators, all sorts of water storage containers.
The total opposite to the reaction to the news of Gilbert's path. And I want to tell
you, when the meteorologists started talking about Gilbert with straight faces and
solemn voices, he was a lot closer to us than Marco.
I don't know if I'll ever forget the experience. Just writing some of it here has been
a good purging activity. At least you, Dear Reader, may be able to read and imagine
the hell that Hurricane Gilbert wrought on our little piece of rock here in the
Caribbean Sea. This little "story" of mine may even give someone else
the chance to learn. Whatever, I've enjoyed constructing it for your enjoyment (or
horror - whichever way you choose to look at it)
Peace And Love!
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