Hurricane Vacation

UPDATE: All's well. Little Cayman and The Brac received force 4...we're waiting for details...but we are unscathed. For a small Island with 50% expats, we generate a lot of prayer. Thus, all the local radio announcers prayed and thanked God. Gov't officials too. I expect that on our National Day of Prayer at the Legislature (Wed.) there will be many prayers of thanks and praise. I hope we never lose this advantage over the 'west'. A natural culture of prayer still exists freely. Thanks to those who prayed with us, and THANKS BE TO GOD.

Cayman Compass
CaymanNetNews
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We're busy battening down the hatches. Water gets turned off at 11, Paloma is supposed to come within 2 miles of Grand Cayman at force 2, around midnight. We have already discovered some new leaks. Since its been raining EVERY DAY since at least mid-Sept. our 10,000 gallon cistern is topped off. Plywood up and windows blocked, patio furniture in. Water and propane in 3 day supply. Hoping the power won't be off long enough to thaw the deep freeze. Called the older people in the neighborhood and people we know who flooded out last time, to invite them over for the duration. No takers so far (I guess they have less crowded offers already!)

Having been here for Ivan in 2004, we feel pretty safe. Unlike almost every neighbour, we did not flood with 3 ft. of water. (I guess we're on 'high' ground.) The Island has just finished rebuilding. Hope we don't have to do it again!

Won't be posting again until the storm has passed and power is up.

(Prayers Welcome)


National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Ivan

Palomapalooza

FOX:

Paloma strengthened to a hurricane with winds near 75 m.p.h. on Thursday as it churned toward the Cayman Islands and Cuba.

Forecasters say the storm is expected to continue strengthening as it moves north over the next day.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the Cayman Islands, where the storm could dump up to 8 inches of rain, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Paloma may make landfall in Cuba over the weekend, and Jamaica was warned to also monitor its progress, the center said.
The Cayman Islands' top elected official, Kurt Tibbetts, urged residents not to wait until the last minute to prepare for the storm.

"History has taught us that we cannot afford complacency during hurricane season, for conditions can rapidly deteriorate," he said.

Grocery stores reported brisk business by noon on Thursday, and some people had started to board up their windows. Officials toured low-lying regions, concerned that the onslaught of recent rains could lead to quicker flooding.

As a tropical storm earlier Thursday, Paloma dumped rain on the remote Nicaragua-Honduras border.

On Thursday evening, Paloma was located about 165 miles south of Grand Cayman and moving north at around 12 m.p.h. A gradual turn to the northeast is expected late Friday.

Well, we still have our plywood up, so I guess we're good to go!