The government-run Radio Cayman is currently off the air as a result of damage to the building housing its studios, with floodwater 2 feet deep in the parking lot. According to Radio Cayman’s News Director, Joel Francis, “We just didn’t see this coming.”
The Government Information Service is also unable to operate and this report has been prepared from unofficial information obtained from local sources.
As predicted, widespread flooding from the expected tidal surge was affecting a large part of the island. One report of a house standing eight feet above normal sea level had water ankle-deep inside. In lower-lying areas there have been reports of people having to climb onto kitchen counters to escape the seas that came flooding into their houses.
At the offices of Cayman Net News, at the time of filing this report, a foot of floodwater has entered the building causing much damage.
The hurricane force winds have torn roofs off and reportedly devastated homes, even in affluent, well-constructed neighbourhoods.
Vehicles parked in flood-prone areas are said to have “just disappeared.”
With many buildings, both residential and commercial, utilising septic tank waste treatment systems, the widespread flooding is resulting in serious health and sanitation concerns as overflowing sewage becomes mixed with the flood waters.
Quote selectie