EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT OF IVAN’S TERRIBLE FURY
By Carla Rae
We are deeply touched by your concern and prayers for Media Workers in particular and Grenadians in general. We all thank you. So far it has been difficult to make contact with colleagues in the media so even now I am hoping and praying that we suffered no losses.
I have seen and/or spoken to Media Managers Mr. Errol Maitland, Mr. Leslie Pierre, Mr. Richard Purcell, Mr. George Worme, Alphonso Strachan {City Sounds FM} (learnt that Paul Roberts of Spice Capital is out of state); and media workers Johnson Richardson, Rawle Paterson Margaret Mitchell and Denis Thomas of Informer; Elton Straker Maitand, Gregory Mitchell of MTV/VOGFM; Michael Bascombe, Calistra Farrier, Lew Smith and George Grant.
We have indeed suffered much loss, with transmission towers haven fallen, antennas being damaged and transmitters and computers having been smashed and water logged. But we are alive - even though most our homes have been devastated as most other Grenadians, by wind, rain and burglars!
My office is now with all telephone lines, electricity, a bit damp but workable. And I'm ready to write and download photos, even though I don't really know where to start.
Here's a bit of my personal experience:
Today is Friday 17th September 2004, ten days after Hurricane Ivan ravished Grenada. I still cannot believe that I actually am alive and at my office, using the computer, telephones and Internet. All my life I was told and enjoyed listening to stories from my elders about Hurricane Janet, which struck here on September 22 1955. Little did they prepare me for this experience.
At about twelve thirty on the afternoon of Tuesday September 7th, having spoken to my Dad who lives in Miami and Cousin who lives in Barbados, I left St. George's for Greenville by way of the Eastern Main Road (St. David). I was accompanied by Carlyle Noel (photographer) and Kelvin Lewis (driver) we were so excited about actually covering a hurricane - little did we know how much of that we would really do!
We got to Grand Bacolet in St. Andrew (East Coast) and stopped to photograph a fallen golden apple tree. As soon as we drove off a fully loaded, huge breadfruit tree fell where we had parked. We were shaken but really excited. We continued to the Cuma intersection and decided stayed in that area taking photos. A group of four to five young men from the area were right there roasting breadfruit on a roadside fire.
We spoke to former government minister, Cuthbert Brian McQueen who advised us to head for home as the ocean had already flooded Marquis and that we would not be able to pass on that roadway as planned.
We were still determined to travel on but were deterred when another huge tree fell, blocking our path. Instead, as the wind strength increased, we sheltered under a little wooden house and photographed a few rooftops as they got blown off. We left Cuma/Grand Bacolet and began to drive the way we had come. But coconuts, breadfruits and branches were falling all over the roadway. Further down the street a pole had fallen leaving us with the job of finding an alternate route. We called the Police to seek help in finding a way out of the area but the officer who sounded as scared as I was only advised us to get off the road.
Turning we remembered that we had passed a turn off leading to Mamma Cannes and headed there - no use, there were fallen telecommunications, cable and electricity power lines and trees up that roadway so we turned again and headed for the Cuma Intersection. We realised at that moment that Ivan had arrived! And, that we were into the race of our lives! We were competing with a Category Three Hurricane.
Did we speed like the devil was on our tails? Yes! We got to Cuma, parked and go out of the vehicle. The young men were still there but not the fireside. We sought shelter under the eaves of a small building, covered our cameras but kept shooting and prayed that we would survive Ivan.
Its hard to describe the hurricane - galvanize sheets flying, branches breaking, power lines hitting the asphalt, wooden houses collapsing upon themselves and the everlasting hissing of the winds. There had to have been a few tornados in that hurricane. A massive tree was uprooted. From the depths of the earth where it had stood it was wrung up and came crashing down! A complete rooftop from a big concrete house was lifted as a whole and swept away. Everything was just being blown away - our vehicle was lifted first on its two left wheels then on the two right ones.
We finally got to enter the small building and shut ourselves in there listening to the upper section come tumbling down around us. We tied down the eaves with cement rope that happened to be in our vehicle. But Ivan was having none of that, he wanted that bit of galvanize too.
The young men told us of a church which was a shelter and we discussed trying to make it there, but looking out and seeing all the flying galvanize stopped us from moving. At that time I wondered whether we would ever make it back to our homes alive and unhurt.
I prayed for our lives, for our families and for the people of Cuma. I believed that God would save us and He did. It’s hard to relive the worse part of Ivan even now that I am safely seated at my desk. But I'm trying.
Again I thank you all for your prayers, it helped. Will be in touch again soon,
Goodbye.
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Carla-Rae
