Hurricane Ivan was a “classical” long lived Cape Verde hurricane. It has been categorized as one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the Caribbean in recorded history. On September 2 [2004] Ivan developed into a tropical depression, it became a tropical storm on the following day and reached hurricane status on 5 September. On September 7 and 8 it damaged 90 percent of the homes in Grenada and killed 16 people. By Thursday morning on September 9, Ivan’s sustained winds reached 160 mph making it a rare category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. On September 11 Ivan began affecting the Sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman with tropical storm winds and Grand Cayman began experiencing tropical storm winds later that afternoon. According to information from the National Weather Service the centre of Ivan was located 113 miles SE of Grand Cayman by 10 pm, and at that time hurricane force winds of over 100 miles per hour were already being experienced on the island. At 5am on Sunday the storm surge from the North Sound was peaking at 10 feet (National Weather Service). The hurricane made its closest approach at 10 am on Sunday when the eye passed 21 miles SW of the Grand Cayman with winds of 150 mph and gusts of 220 mph. As the storm continued on its track, storm surge and battering waves heavily affected the south coast of Grand Cayman. Ivan was a slow moving hurricane which increased the exposure of the Island to hurricane force winds as well as increased the total amount of rain.

Hurricane Ivan took the lives of two persons on Grand Cayman and it temporarily displaced significant proportions of the population. All persons experienced the loss of electricity, water and access to telecommunications for some period immediately following the disaster. The three most affected districts were George Town, Bodden Town and East End. Together these three districts account for 75% of the total population on Grand Cayman. 402 people were treated for lacerations, wounds, removal of foreign bodies, fractures and burns as a result of the disaster. However, the general health and well being of the population was good and was well maintained by dedicated health care professionals, first responders and the kindness of neighbours.

The total economic impact to the Cayman Islands was estimated by the United Nations ECLAC team to be 3.4 billion (183 % of GDP). Approximately 83% or 13,535 units of the total housing stock in the Grand Cayman suffered some degree of damage. Dwellings which were situated on the sea shore, in low lying, or swampy areas suffered the most severe damage. Older and less well constructed housing was also severely affected.

Four per cent (4%) of homes that were affected were so severely damaged that they required complete reconstruction. 70%, or 9, 475, dwellings suffered severe damage which resulted from sea surge or damage caused by winds to roofs, windows and doors. The remaining 26% or 3,519 dwellings, suffered minor damage caused by partial roof removal, low levels of water inundation, or flying roofs and floating objects such as containers. The total financial effect on the housing sector was estimated at CI$1,444,868,244. (1.4 billion) The financial effect on the finance (commerce) and tourism sectors was estimated at around CI$ 460 million each.

Insurance coverage while it was widespread for both the private sector and government infrastructure only covered part of the assets damaged or destroyed and in most cases did not cover income lost or the business interruption. The ECLAC team estimated that the amount of per capita damage and losses was US$75,700 per person. This figure is the highest ever encountered by ECLAC.

The direct physical damage to the Cayman Islands was estimated to be CI$ 2.4 billion – a figure that far exceeded the best previous (annual) construction performance of the Cayman Islands (which stood at CI $ 400 million). Recovering from the damage therefore stretched capacity and posed enormous challenges in terms of importing large amounts of labour and building materials over a relatively short period of time. The value of imports increased in 2004 by 30.5 percent and increased by a further 94.8 percent in the first quarter of 2005 (ECLAC Report). The dramatic increase in imports gives a good indication of the huge amount of raw materials and finished goods that were imported as part of the rebuilding effort. With so many properties rendered uninhabitable, and that combined with the increase in imported labour required for the rapid re-build, the demand for rental properties surged and inflation quickly followed. Statistics show that consumer inflation for the month of March 2005 was 11.1 percent higher than March 2004 (Economics and Statistics Office). Gradually the housing stock was repaired, new accommodation was constructed and at the same time the demand for labour decreased as construction activity returned to more normal (pre-Ivan) levels. Unsurprisingly, the Cayman Islands was left with a glut of rental accommodation which drove down prices and this effect was compounded by a slowing global economic environment.

The above was taken from a report published by the Government of the Cayman Islands in 2010.

If you were here and lived through Hurricane Ivan you will remember it for the rest of your life.

There is no way to describe living through that storm because nothing can wholly describe the experience. It wasn’t just the wind and rain – it was the sound. If you can shut your eyes and imagine ten freight trains roaring past you continually for at least ten hours you might just have a sense of what it was like.

The day before the storm (Sep 10) we were celebrating Joan’s 70th birthday confident in the knowledge the storm was headed to Jamaica and would miss us. Of course storms do not behave as expected even if you are a hurricane expert.

I was awakened from my sleep on that fateful morning by the telephone ringing and a voice from my pastor telling me that Ivan had not turned as expected and did not hit Jamaica. There was silence to allow this horrifying news to sink in and then with a “God be with you” the call ended.

The aftermath of the storm I witnessed human beings behaviour at their worst and their best.

The worst was the pillaging and stealing by hordes of people ransacking shops and abandoned properties like vultures. Gangs of young men armed with machetes who came by our house and only passed on by when they saw our two 80lb dogs at my side.

The best was the way total strangers hugged everyone asking how they were and where they had stayed”. ‘Did we have water?” “Did we have food?” “Did we have accommodation?”

It was the banks who were terrible. Only opening for a few hours and allowing only $50 of your own money to be drawn. No businesses that were open would take credit cards or cheques.

It was the banking industry who forced the governor to instruct a British war ship to depart saying we were OK because they were worried about damage to our banking industry. This is why we got very little help from outside.

It was only when the gangs appeared additional policing came via Canada.

The other good thing for me was the amazing sight at night. I had never seen the night sky with all those stars, the Milky Way in particular, look so bright. It really was awesome.

We survived but the expatriate local help was rewarded by a large majority of them being thrown out when the government of the day introduced the seven year old roll over policy that included even the domestics and home help for the aged and infirmed.

My wife, whose roots go back to both of the two families who arrived here, the Boddens and Watlers, wrote a scathing letter to the Compass that they published saying the policy was wrong and unjust. For her sake she got slammed by her fellow Caymanians on the government radio talk show, including the host, and was thrown out of the political party she had campaigned for. Not that that bothered her one tiny bit.

This country has come a long way since then but the mistakes that were made before Hurricane Ivan, especially the destruction of the mangroves and the way some of the buildings were designed and allowed to add storeys, have not been heeded at all.

Heaven help us all if another Ivan pays us a visit. Our death rate of two in 2004?

Remembering Ivan? No. Money and greed will soon put an end to that? Oh. It already has.