Where do I start with trying to describe what it was like to go through a hurricane on a small island? This a long story, so if you tire of reading, please go to the end and read about neighborness and there is a short video in the middle.
Well, it all started last Friday, October 29th, 2010. Even though I no longer work outside the home, I rarely watch TV or listen to any type of news. Therefore, I was not aware of any hurricane warnings. (I found out later that there were no warnings here on the island until much later in the evening. Hotel managers that keep up with the weather knew about it, but most of the islanders just thought they were in for a bad rain storm.) But, one of the ladies that works here at my apartment came by and was talking with me and told me that the owners had asked her to move in all the outside patio furniture and to also place towels under all the apartment glass doors. She said that they said there was a storm a coming. Then, Gary (who was in Jamaica on a job assignment) called me and said that there was a tropical storm Tomas (not Thomas) which looked to be headed straight at Barbados and would arrive that evening. Gary said that he was going ahead and flying home that night - but that he would call me when he reached Miami for flight updates. I really felt like his flight from Miami to Barbados would be cancelled and he would end up staying in Miami for the weekend. I asked him to just stay in Jamaica instead of flying into the storm - but, he didn't listen to me.
So, I brought in all my stuff from off the veranda and dug in the closet for my hurricane preparedness items - lantern, candles, matches, battery operated radio, water, and nonperishable food. Gary's flight was to arrive around 10:00 pm. I had a thought that I should go pick up some ice and put it in my cooler, but I decided against doing this. The TV was posting an emergency warning at the bottom of the screen stating, "Ship boat operators need to secure their vessels or seek safe harbor." "Weather bulletin: Barbados is now under a tropical storm warning." "Chief Fisheries Officer Stephen Willoughby advises all ship boat operators to secure their vessels."
Gary called me when he got to Miami and unbelievably, the flight was boarding and they were coming on to Barbados. I didn't think to check online for any flight delays, I just drove to the airport around 10 pm. I was actually a little worried about getting there because it had already started raining - but, I knew Gary wanted to see me pick him up - so, I braved it and went on. Much to my dismay, when I arrived there at the airport, the flight had been delayed by 30 minutes.
The air was very cool. It was the first time since I had been on the island that I was actually chilled. That should have been a clue. Right about the time that the plane was to land, the wind really picked up and started blowing sideways - to the point that everyone was getting up and moving towards the side walls to stand. (The Grantley Adams Airport is open air seating for flight arrivals. Which is usually very nice to sit and take in the island breezes.) I was a little worried at that point for Gary's safety.
But, there he was - smiling at me - as he walked through those glass doors. He had made it safe and sound. He later told me that the stewardess had told him that about half way through the flight, the ground control had given the pilot a choice on whether to continue on to Barbados or to turn back to Miami. I find this a very interesting fact - that American Airlines would put this decision solely on the pilot? Really? Gary noted that when they landed, it was a different approach than normal landings, that the pilot did an outstanding job - he gunned the engines, did a nose dive , and then broke hard when the first wheels touched the runway. The stewardess also told Gary that the crew was supposed to stay the weekend in Barbados, but they had been told to fly back out immediately! Now I understand why there were no planes at the airport when the storm moved through.
That night or rather very early morning, I woke up around 2:00 am and there was a very loud wind noise that was coming from the front of our apartments. I got up to check it out. Everything looked in place, but decided it wasn't a really good idea for me to be standing right in front of those windows. I was awakened again with a loud thump against our apartment walls - it made me jump straight up in the bed. At that point, it was about 5:30 am and I decided to get on up - I knew it would be useless for me to try to sleep. The wind had shifted now - and was now coming in through the veranda sliding glass doors. That is when I realized because of the shift in wind direction, that the eye had now passed over us - we were on the backside of the storm. Water started coming in under the glass doors - both in the den and our master bedroom. I took every beach towel that we owned and put around these doors to keep the water from coming on into the apartment.
We couldn't dare walk outside on the veranda - the wind was ferocious. My swinging hammock chair was swinging so hard, it was touching the ceiling. The gutters on the side of our veranda tore off and fell to the pool below. We could see the ocean as the dawn was breaking, it was very angry. The waves were not really high, but there were tons of them! It looked like a sea of waves - white foam everywhere. Gary went and looked out the front window - and said that the roof of a house across the street was lifting up and down. There was a downed coconut tree across the street. Around 6:30am Saturday morning, we lost power. It was as Murphy's Law goes - unfortunate, because Gary had just gotten some bacon out of the freezer and was just about to warm it up in the microwave! He ended up having cold cereal instead. A few months back, there had been a lot of rain on the island and that had caused several water mains to break and a lot of people had been without water for days. So, when the power went off, Gary and I rushed to fill the mop sink up with water, in case the water was about to go out as well. It was hot and stuffy in the apartment - no air conditioning, no windows/doors could be opened. The sound/roar was very loud - a lot like a freight train that kept on passing by - and kept on - and kept on. Wind was the major factor in this storm, there was no thunder or lightning.
I think the worst of the wind had subsided around 11:00am, although it continued to rain all the rest of the day and night. If you looked out at the ocean, what would normally have been pretty blue skies and fluffy white clouds, was nothing but grey - all grey. Very dismal. So, lunch time arrives and we are hungry - we have vienna sausage and crackers. I had text James and asked him to Google how long food will keep in a refrigerator/freezer - he text back 4 and 24 hours. So, even though Gary and I would have liked a little pepper sauce on that sausage, we didn't dare open our refrigerator door. Which brings me to the next dilemma - Gary wanted ice for his drinks - and we couldn't open the freezer door. Now I know why I had the thought of getting crushed ice the night before. When will I ever start listening to those thoughts in my head!
Now, to the good part of this story: neighborness! I turned on the battery operated radio - and it was so wonderful to hear voices from the island. We learned that the island was in a complete shutdown - NO emergency vehicles/crew were to be operating! (Found out later, that a poor lady in St. Lucy parish was having a baby and no ambulance would come to pick her up.) But, over the next 12 hours, I listened to all the news - from authorities, TV announcers, radio operators and ordinary people - and I will have to say - I wouldn't take anything for this listening time. I wrote down a lot of things that were said and will share some of it with you now:
"Tomas is now 20 miles south of the island. You are on your own for a little while, no emergency services at this time."
"Hurricane Warning! 12.9N 59.5W less than 20 miles south of island moving 15 miles per hour."
"Center is passing. 70 miles per hour."
"Tomas is 140 miles spread from the eye."
"Tides are 1 to 3 ft. above normal tide level."
"Stay inside. Repeat stay inside."
"Mango tree down, neighbors roof peeled back like a tin can."
"Don't use any water unless necessary."
"People are getting on the streets to sight see and it is still dangerous."
"Family of 5 lost their home. They need food."
"Power lines are on the roads everywhere!"
"Large pear tree down."
"Large breadfruit tree down." (Breadfruit trees seemed to fare the worst in this storm.)
"12 children/4 adults in one house - roof came off"
"St. Lucy - eerily feeling."
"Very dark."
"Medical interventions first."
"Last system like this was in 1955 - Hurricane Janet."
"Tomas is the 19th storm of 2010."
"75/85% of island power is out."
"The most vulnerable people are the ones that get hurt the most."
"St. Phillip is broken in half."
"American Airlines all flights in and out have been cancelled until tomorrow morning."
"14 Cheffettes closed." (These are the fast food restaurants on the island."
"Power pole is broken and there are sparks coming out and it's catching on fire."
"All Clear given to buses at 3:00pm"
"Anything that you can do to help your neighbor, please do."
"My sister, someone please help her - she is living alone and I can not get to her, she has problem with her feet and her house is getting water. Please help."
"St. Phillip still high winds."
"St. Andrew has no electricity, no water, no phones."
"Someone help - house is slowly crumbling in on Deighton Rd, St. Michael."
"Try to keep the people calm whose houses have fallen."
"Keith Goddard - Grantly Airport - transmission tower has been damaged/down"
"No one should be coming to the airport."
"Psalm 46 was quoted on the air: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Be still and know that I am God." (I can not describe the feeling of peace that came over me while this gentle spoken pastor said these words on the air.)
"Courtney Soloman - people are confused with the all clear message."
"Hardest hit areas appear to be St. George, St. Philip, St. Michael, and St. Lucy."
"Just passed Golden Ridge and 3 men are out there in the pouring rain, hammering down the roof."
"Power company - about 1/4 of our men are out working."
"QEH Hospital is fully functional, but have shut down the CT Scan and have a shortage of staff."
"People that have to use insulin, please place the medicine in cool tap water."
I listened to this radio all afternoon and evening - listened to people calling in and stating where they or their neighbor lived and what type help was needed - and the neat thing was that everyone on the island was listening to this same thing - and when someone would call for help on Deighton Road - I knew that the listeners in that area would immediately run out and find this person/persons in need and give them the help they needed. It was ingenious! It was so much better than emergency crews trying to get to everyone. It was brilliant. Neighborness - everywhere! Men were working in the pouring rain helping their neighbors with their homes. Men were out in the streets - with their chain saws - helping get the big trees out of the way so that the emergency personnel could get through. Food was shared, shoulders were offered to cry on, hugs were given, scripture was quoted, and lives were saved.
In the end, the real drama to behold on this island was the neighborness. Man, am I ever going to miss this place!
