Updates from Jamaican Correspondents

[LJR]

- Here our cry o lord attend unto our prayers. for thou has been a shelter for JA
From: "Andre Marriott-Blake" <sean134 at msn.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:54:53 +0000

Greetings all,

As Mega Hurricane Dean churns towards Jamaica, preparations for its arrival are in high gear. Unfortunately all models seem to think that it will definately come over us. The truth is we cannot manage a category 4 or 5 hurricane... the only thing we can do now is pray ad call out to our saviour for protection. passing over the causeway this morning the sea is tranquil and the birds have vanished - an ominous sign of what is to come. My eyes have been glued to the weather channel waiting to hear that it has wobbled further noth our south ( which has been the norm for pass hurricanes nearing Jamaica) but so far nothing... I am really concerned about the possible storm surge that may acompany this system for many of Jamaica's populated communites e.g Greater Portmore are below sea level and are very close to the sea. If Dean is to bring a 3 storey wave ( which it triggered over the Carribean sea lastnight) onshore Jamaica i realy fear a Jamaican Katrina scenario. This may be my last post prior to the storm.. and if it does hit, more than likely we wont have electricity for weeks...I'l try to post before 'D' day if possible. As usual if i can give u any assistance email me a sean134 at msn.com. Your prayers are truly needed and appreciated now. God be with you all and God be with Jamaica-- in him we put all our trust.. "thy will be done..."
Andre


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- From Treasure Beach Jamaica
From: "Ann Lyons" <ann.lyons at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 09:21:04 -0500

Hello all - A heavy heart here. On the beach in Treasure Beach on a gorgeous sunny calm morning, packing and hammering and gunting heard all around. We should expect the worst and everyone seems to be believing it. I will report when I can but if it goes as expected communications will be a problem. In Ivan they turned the power off before the wind even picked up. I am at the hotel, Jake's now and we have a generator so I will keep you posted.

Ann Lyons

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- Finally got the message ...
From: "Richard May" <rmay.eng at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 07:45:39 -0500

Well, up to 10pm last night my neigbours were telling me they dont think we're gonna get hit ... we just love their optimism. But hey, they also went and did their emergency shopping so maybe they really are just trying to be positive. It's 7:30am on Saturday and the roads are noticeably less busy than your average Saturday morning in Kingston, I am hoping it means that we have actually started to take note of what is coming. The weather channels just reported wave heights of 33ft (10m) from one of NOAA's buoys which just passed through DEAN ... the also reported that the anemometer that recorded the last wind speed BROKE in one of the gusts from the storm. The pressure is now down to 926mb .. .Gilbert was a high CAT2 into low CAT3 hurricane when it hit us in 1988 ... DEAN is coming at a mid to high CAT4 and maybe even a CAT5 ... need I say more? By the way ... I mapped Gilbert's path in 1988 against Dean's path so far and the projections for the next three days ... they are almost a perfect match ... so wind patterns should be relatively the same just way much stronger! So wherever you have wind coming from in Gilbert ... chances are thats where it'll be coming from with DEAN!

Our best bet is to hope DEAN goes north, because south will still leave us all with major damage! In my honest opinion we will get a direct hit and I suspect a "few" weeks of getting the island back together. It is not going to be pretty! Ok gotta ago ... update you later today.

Richard M

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- Update
From: cgomes at j2ltd.net
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 08:46:02 -0400 (EDT)

The beautiful morning belies the impending threat. Blue clear cloudless
skies, virtually no breeze. Interesting absence of the usual bird songs
this morning. Have they left for shelter already?

Not sure how one prepares for 150 mph sustained winds - the forecast from
the Weather Channel- but we are stocked with food and water, boarding up
and sealing important documents and pictures in plastic. Our family will
be all together which is the most important part.

We are clearly going to have major effects from DEAN and we can only hope
and pray that we don't get a direct hit, that there is minimal (dare we
hope for no) loss of life and that Jamaicans will pick themselves up with
their usual panache and strength after the storm passes.





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- Update
From: Sharni Bullock <pancharnic at hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 11:03:06 +0000

Beautiful Morning here in Kingston!! Birds chirping, lizards up and about, nice, fresh dew on the grass - sounds like paradise but we know better than that! Just saw the satelite of Dean, looks like he will be a five by the time he graces our shores.
Please pray that somehow,like Ivan, he will at the last moment decide to swerve and that the eye will not pass directly over us.
Walk good!



Sharni S. F. Bullock