From Cayman newspaper...
The monster hurricane that brought driving rain, high winds and flooding to the Cayman Islands from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning finally headed off to Cuba Saturday afternoon.
But the damage, especially on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, had already been done.
There were reports of widespread destruction across the Sister Islands after Hurricane Paloma slammed into the islands as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane early Saturday.
Paloma maintained its Cat–4 status, with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour as it churned toward eastern Cuba in the afternoon.
Whole houses had been destroyed on Cayman Brac, roofs were torn from buildings and roads were blocked but there had been no reports of death or serious injury.
We are getting reports of severe damage island–wide, said District Commissioner Ernie Scott, speaking from the Aston Rutty Centre on the Bluff.
There are multiple reports of complete roof loss, a couple of reports of entire buildings down but we won’t be able to confirm this until we get out on the roads, he said.
The runway at Gerard Smith Airport on Cayman Brac is flooded and it could be a few days before flight services between Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands resume, Mr. Scott said.
Two of four operational Hurricane Shelters on the Brac reported damage – part of the roof of the Seafarers Centre was ripped off, while a serious roof leak at the West End Primary School was causing flooding.
Grand Cayman saw its fair share of effects from the storm as well.
Significant flooding in Bodden Town forced the government to open a shelter at the local civic centre for residents who could not go home.
Some homes in George Town reported up to a foot of water getting inside from drainage back ups during heavy rains Friday night. National Roads Authority crews worked to alleviate the problem Saturday.
Some tourist resorts on the East End of Grand Cayman, including the Reef Resort and Morritts Tortuga took on water from the storm as well.
Downed power lines, fallen tree limbs and debris scattered about were a common sight on the main island Saturday morning, even in West Bay District which appeared to be the least affected by the storm.
By mid–day things were getting back to normal on Grand Cayman. Grocery stores had opened at 10am and Owen Roberts Airport had regained power and flights were operating.
On Cayman Brac it was an altogether different story.
Mr. Scott said the Brac had experienced maximum sustained winds of 130–140mph with gusts of up to 160mph as the storm tracked further east than had been previously expected before getting to the Cayman Islands.
The eye of the storm passed over Little Cayman at around 5am, a government advisory said. On the Brac, winds started to subside just after 8am, but tropical storm force winds were expected to persist well into the afternoon.
About 200 people are believed to be staying on Little Cayman, including about 25 tourists.
How those staying on the tiny island’s south–side, which was expected to be the worst affected area, was not clear although Mr. Scott said people staying at the Little Cayman hurricane shelter were doing OK.
Red cross officials here in Grand Cayman reported massive damage on the smallest of the three islands.
"At least one house on stilts has fallen off, at least a dozen homes have lost their roofs," Red Cross Disaster Management Manager Hemant Balgobin said. "The roof on an apartment complex caved in. A mother and daughter got trapped in their house when the roof caved in and had to be rescued."
Mr. Balgobin said the earliest disaster relief workers were likely to get to the island was Sunday.
The British ship RFA Waveruler was being sent to the Sister Islands to provide humanitarian assistance on the orders of Governor Stuart Jack.
Mr. Scott pleaded for the island’s residents to be patient and stay put, warning that it could be a couple of days before the all clear is given.
We want to stress that people that are in shelters and people that are in their homes are not to get out on the roads, Mr. Scott said.
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service will be monitoring that very closely in the next hours and anyone that is out there, other than essential services people, will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1035084
