Are you saying that Nassau may not be hit as hard as expected now? :dancer2:

ISSUED BY: Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency
DATE: September 3, 2004
TIME: 6;00 pm


The Event: At 5:00pm Eastern Caribbean Time Hurricane Frances was approximately
90 miles East southeast of Freeport, Grand Bahama. . The north western Bahamas
continues to be under a Hurricane Warning as Frances slowly travels west
northwestward.

The Prognosis: Frances has been affecting the central and north western Bahamas
for the past 24 hours and is not expected to clear the area for another 24
hours. The Central Bahamas will gradually clear this evening into tonight as
the hurricane warning for that area has been discontinued by the National
Hurricane Centre.

Status of RRM: The Regional Response Mechanism is activated. Caribbean Disaster
Relief Unit (CDRU) on Standby


The Situation - BAHAMAS
***********************

Several islands of The Bahamas are still experiencing hurricane force and
tropical storm force winds at 5:00 pm.

Nassau – one person is confirmed dead. An 18-year old was outside in the height
of the hurricane attempting to service a standby generator and was
electrocuted. Roof of shelter at Bethsheda United Missionary Baptist Church
caved in. People safely moved to neighbours.

San Salvador – Hurricane Frances battered this island with 140 mph winds for 30
hours. 15 to 20 per cent of the housing stock has been damaged. Population is
1,000 people. Widespread environmental damage with fallen trees, power lines
and utility poles – much of which was cleared for initial damage assessment.
Health care facility is in good condition. A doctor, nurse, and official of the
Bahamian Defence Force were pre-positioned and are assisting residents. All
tourists at Club Med were evacuated and the hotel, which is empty, sustained
roofing damage.

New Providence is the headquarters of the Emergency Operations Centre of the
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) - At 5 pm tropical storm force
conditions were still affecting the island and expect to subside tomorrow.
Initial reports of environmental damage and storm surge affecting coastal areas
and cutting off coastal roads. Some homes have been flooded but assessment is
difficult this evening.

Acklins Island – Sustained damage to a marine docking facility and other
coastal damage from battering waves.

Acklins/Crooked Island/Long Cay - No major damage. Two Haitian boat people
detained.

Eleuthera – Winds in excess of 100 mph affected the island. Storm force
conditions still affecting the island. Power is out.

Harbour – Power out after island affected with winds in excess of 100 mph.
Storm surge and inland flooding reported. All evacuation shelters are occupied.
No reports of injury or death. Roads are impassable. Minor damage to health
clinic roof.

Inagua - Two vessels damaged.

Mayaguana – Road infrastructure damage. No loss of life. Power should be
restored by tonight or tomorrow morning.

Long Island – No damage

Exuma - Weather conditions improving. Water supplies restored.

Black Point – Telecommunications down.

Farmer’s Cay – Telecommunications down.

North Eleuthera - Winds reported in excess of 100 mph. Power out. Fibre optic
cable from North and South Eleuthera broken– no land-based contact with Spanish
Wells.

Central Eleuthera – No electricity and telecommunications down. No contact with
the island.

South Eleuthera – Tropical storm force conditions still exist. Damage
assessment not possible at this time.

North Andros – Tropical storm force conditions still exist. One property
reported damaged. Full assessment not possible at this time.

Central Andros – No known damage. Weather conditions mild.

South Andros / Mangrove Cay – No reported problems

Nassau International Airport - Heavy winds. Bahamasair Holdings Office roof
and front portion was torn off making it accessible to the public. Airport
Security is stationed at the site.

Berry Islands – Heavy rains continuing. Assessment not possible at this time.

Abaco – Winds becoming strong. 250 persons in public shelters.

East Grand Bahama – Winds becoming stronger. About 130 persons in public
shelters.

West Grand Bahama – Weather is good. 240 persons in public shelters.

Freeport Grand Bahama - Winds are picking up, continues to rain. 700 persons
in public shelters.

Ragged Island – No reported damage to any critical infrastructure.

Bimini / Cat Cay - Winds 35-40 mph. Four shelters are operational. No
significant damage, some fallen tree limbs.

Dear Melody,

What you were thinking of was ahurricane party the residents of an apartment complex in Long Beach Ms were having during Hurricane Camille in
1969. The storm surge of 25ft completely destroyed the complex and of 72 people only one survived.... As said never take any hurricane lightly and always protect you and your loved ones. As a resident of New Orleans we are very aware of the dangers of these systems. God Bless you all in the islands and I hope we all take part in your recovery...Thanks

Hi Guys,

I am still alive :)

The power just came on in my area along with the internet.
So far there have been minimal damage reported in Nassau.

An 18 year old died around 8:am yesterday when he attempted to repair a generator at his home.

Thank God He brought us through.

News feeds are back online :tup:

Thanks for your patience. In the meantime, here's the latest report from CEDRA that offers general detail of the islands ... and as more news come in, we'll post here and at the Briland Modem at Briland.com, Eleu.net and the Abacoboard [CoconutTelegraph.Net]:

CEDRA Situation Report #4 - Hurricane Frances - Sep 4, 2004, 14:00 pm

The Event: At 11:00am Eastern Caribbean Time, Hurricane Frances was located near the Island of Grand Bahama in the Northwestern Bahamas. A hurricane Warning for the Northwestern Bahamas continues to be in effect.

The Prognosis: Hurricane Frances slowed considerably overnight whilst continuing to impact the Northwestern Bahamas. It is expected to continue to drench the Northwestern areas with torrential rainfall for the remainder of today. The weather conditions in the central Bahamas continues to improve.

Status of RRM: The Regional Response Mechanism is activated. Caribbean Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) on Standby

The Situation – BAHAMAS
The following update was provided by the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) EOC at September 4, 2003:

Mayaguana - Electricity has been restored to the island.

Acklins/Crooked Island/Long Cay – Flooding, minor damage to High School, homes, and the Government Clinic. There is damage to the dock in Spring Point.

Long Island - Power is intermittent. There are fallen trees and flooding. Clean up underway.

Exuma - Weather conditions improving. Water supply restored.

San Salvador / Rum Cay – Five families homeless, another 100 have sustained damage to their homes. Damage to two Government schools, and other Government buildings; localised flooding. Power out, phone lines down. No loss of life.

North Eleuthera - Affected by winds in excess of 100 mph. Power down. No land base phone contact with Spanish Wells, N. Eleuthera and S. Eleuthera as fiber lines broken. General environmental damage and structural damage.

Harbor Island – Affected by 100 mph winds which caused widespread environmental damage and downed power lines. All public shelters filled. Roofing damage. No injuries reported. Roads impassable.

Central Eleuthera - Governor's Harbour sustained heavy flooding and some structural damage.

Hatchet Bay - heavy flooding and some structural damage, no electricity.

South Eleuthera - General flooding and structural damage, no electricity.

Cat Island - No water, no light, broken gas lines. Environmental damage.

North Andros - Utility poles are down, trees down, flooding, no injuries, no electricity.

Electricity is now on in some areas AA

Central Andros – Minimal impact. Telecommunication and electricity available.

South Andros / Mangrove Cay - No major damages. Few roofs have loose shingles. One floating dock in Driggs Hill broke away.

New Providence - Trees down blocking Dumping Ground Corner. Roof caved in at Shelter at Bethsheda United Missionary Baptist church, no injuries reported. Occupants moved to Calvary Deliverance Shelter. Cunningham closed off at Kemp Road across from Urich McPhee School Library. Mia Dean and Nay Dean (sister ships) aground at Rose Island. Two elderly persons aboard Mia Dean assisted by Defence Force (harbor patrol). Traffic Light Dangerously Hanging on Thompson Blvd. Corner West of Harbour Bay Centre Blocked by Trees. Trees and poles are down at Montague, number of electrical lines down in Fox Hill Area. Public Information Officer is working with the media to notify the public to continue to stay in doors until otherwise advised.

Nassau International Airport - NIA is up and running. Flights are being accepted.

Berry Islands - Power lines down and roof damage in Great Harbour Cay.

Abaco - In Central Abaco strong winds and torrential rain. In South Abaco cell phones and land phones are down; there is no electricity, contact being maintained with NEMA via satellite phone. In North Abaco part of the roof at the Government building which was used as the EOC collapsed and caused minor injuries. There are no utilities in North Abaco.

East Grand Bahama – No damage assessment as yet.

West Grand Bahama - Flooding in West End; electricity poles are down and there is no electricity as well as no phones. Roof blown off from barracks at Hanna Hill. Fishing Hole completely flooded. Residents of Queens Cove had to be evacuated. Weather personnel hand to be evacuated.

Freeport Grand Bahama - Windy 80 mph; Airport under six feet of water. Queens Cove under water; personnel taken to higher ground. West End and Queens Cove have no communication. Maurice Moore Primary has 150 persons in shelter. A few trees down; no power. North and South Bahama along with Trip Circle are now experiencing high water rise, now in process of relocating to Huge Campbell Shelter.

Ragged Island - No damage to any critical infrastructure. Telephones lines are up; electricity is on, no flooding and very little rain.

Bimini / Cat Cay – No damage reported.

Today's storm news from the scene:

Sep 4th, 07:15p EST – From Ben Knox, on Harbour Island:
As you haven’t been getting many reports from Harbour Island, I thought I would send you this.

I took a drive around Dunmore town earlier today and also walked along the beach.

From what I saw, there didn’t appear to be any major structural damage to building, mainly things like roof tiles coming off, and wooden verandas and fences have been broken or blown down. The roads seemed to have mostly been cleared, and people were getting on with clearing the fallen trees and branches from their properties and making repairs. I saw a few street lights smashed on the ground, and quite a lot of power lines and telephone lines trailing across roads. Trees and branches are down all over the place.

On the beach, there has been a lot of erosion. Where there used to be sandy slopes down to the beach from properties and hotels, there are now ‘cliffs’ where the sand has been gouged out by the sea. Many of the wooden stairs from properties down to the beach have been damaged or have the lower sections missing. Also many of the palm leaf “umbrellas” along the beach have gone (though Coral Sands Hotel’s ones seemed to still be there). The beach does look very pristine now as all the old seaweed that builds up on it has washed away.

Today has had some quite high winds still and big gusts from time to time. The winds seem particularly high along the beach where it feels like your legs are being sand-blasted when you walk there. The sea is still quite rough. There have also been also intermittent squalls of rain and it has been very cloudy all day. At about 5.30pm, we started having a thunder and lightning storm with periods of very heavy rain.

Power is still out and phones still not working.

Hope this is of interest.

Regards,
Ben

Posted by:
Sep 4th 2004, 05:26:08 pm - Fig Tree News Team
Thanks for your patience. In the meantime, here are Eleuthera and Harbour Island-related excerps from CEDRA that offers general detail of the islands [the entire report can be read at the briland.com messageboard]:

CEDRA Situation Report #4 - Hurricane Frances - Sep 4, 2004, 14:00 pm

North Eleuthera - Affected by winds in excess of 100 mph. Power down. No land base phone contact with Spanish Wells, N. Eleuthera and S. Eleuthera as fiber lines broken. General environmental damage and structural damage.

Harbour Island – Affected by 100 mph winds which caused widespread environmental damage and downed power lines. All public shelters filled. Roofing damage. No injuries reported. Roads impassable.

Central Eleuthera - Governor's Harbour sustained heavy flooding and some structural damage.

Hatchet Bay - heavy flooding and some structural damage, no electricity.

South Eleuthera - General flooding and structural damage, no electricity.

Sep 4th 2004, 01:26:08 pm - Fig Tree News Team
Thanks for your patience ... as any word comes in, it'll be posted here. As it stands, there's a lot over cloud cover over the island right now, which is most certainly hampering any post-storm satellite communications.

If you hear anything on your end, please post here or send to info@briland.com.

More news later ...
Eleu.net Deserted Beach News
Fig Tree News Team at Briland.com
and an awesome network of satcom/ham and cell correspondents

Thanks for the updates islandgyal. :tup:

San Salvador – Hurricane Frances battered this island with 140 mph winds for 30 hours.

i think you meant 3 hours??

Man, that was definitely somethin' eh? Lost a couple of big trees, had some minor water in the house, but all my fam on da island are doin' alright. How ya'll doin'?

Electricity and internet, as well as my servers, are back up and running... obviously.

What do you guys think about the BTC's loss of connectivity to Grand Bahama? A backup link through Cable Bahamas' fibre optic division in Grand Bahama would be their best bet, dont ya think?

Man, that was definitely somethin' eh? Lost a couple of big trees, had some minor water in the house, but all my fam on da island are doin' alright. How ya'll doin'?

Electricity and internet, as well as my servers, are back up and running... obviously.

What do you guys think about the BTC's loss of connectivity to Grand Bahama? A backup link through Cable Bahamas' fibre optic division in Grand Bahama would be their best bet, dont ya think?

The news of phone services in Grand Bahama is really sad news at this time mostly due to the fact that they are still under hurricane conditions. I believe however that Mr. Leon Williams is working hard along with others to get the service back online.

Hi,
Anyone know how San Salvador residents are doing? What about the research center, any new would be appreciated. Been to San Sal several times, love the island love the people and am anxious to know how they are doing.
Thanks
Billy in Georgia

Hi,
Anyone know how San Salvador residents are doing? What about the research center, any new would be appreciated. Been to San Sal several times, love the island love the people and am anxious to know how they are doing.
Thanks
Billy in Georgia

There were no lives lost in San Salvador only major damages to some homes and infrastructures.

Keep tuned into the news reports via the links at the top of this site.

There were no lives lost in San Salvador only major damages to some homes and infrastructures.

Keep tuned into the news reports via the links at the top of this site.

Thanks for the info! I am glad to hear that all the inhabitants are ok. Am anxious to hear more about GRC and how it did. Hope that the island can pull together quickly and get back to normal.
Thanks again
Billy

San Salvador – Hurricane Frances battered this island with 140 mph winds for 30 hours.



i think you meant 3 hours??
__________________

yes, rory, you read right. frances stopped by several islands for 30+ hours, including south and central eleuthera by my firsthand knowledge. san salvador got battered, and i understand that it lasted forever in abaco and freeport.

where are you watching the news from?