Comments on: 2008 Hurricanes Have Devastated Many Caribbean Islands!

By: Jim Walberg

Jim Walberg — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:33:36 +0000

Hi Kim,
Thanks for checking in regarding the state of affairs in the Cayman Islands regarding the impact of the last three tropical storms and hurricances that have devastated some of the Caribbean islands. Just as in Craig’s comments, your observations are correct about the quality of building and the pristine condition of the Cayman Islands after any storm during Hurrican season. Having a home in San Francisco, too, I know about earthquakes, and the devastation of the last one in 1989 was massive. Still, people are flocking to the S.F. area to purchase homes. It is so odd that earthquakes don’t seem to bother the mentality of the Bay Area, yet people are petrified regarding hurricanes. As I mentioned before, the blessing of a hurrican is that you get two weeks notice that it is coming. There is NO notice with hurricanes. I send you my best wishes for another special day in Paradise. Until next time…
Jim

By: Jim Walberg

Jim Walberg — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:15:34 +0000

Hello Craig,
WOW! Your first hand experiences with hurricanes in the Caribbean are inspiring. We both know that in the media, “If it bleeds it reads.” is the standard most of the time. And, I want to acknowledge that there are millions of people whose lives are being damaged by the series of hurricanes that have come through the region this year. And, I want to acknowledge that there aer certain places, like the Cayman Islands that have weathered deveastating hurricanes throughout their history and still thrived and flourished. I am glad to hear all is well, and that your special piece of Paradise is sparkling again. Until next time…
Jim

By: Kim Lund

Kim Lund — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:07:43 +0000

We sympathize with the other Caribbean Islands like the Turks and Caicos who have been hit hard this year by tropical storms and hurricanes. Living in Grand Cayman, we realize how fortunate we are in that being hit by a hurricane is a very rare occurance, generally about 50 years between storms. We are also more secure than most islands in that the construction here is extremely strong – poured concrete slabs and steel for almost every building, without exception. Grand Cayman is in pristine condition and we look forward to many more years without the impact of these terrible storms… Kim Lund, Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Cayman Islands

By: Craig Bosio

Craig Bosio — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:15:35 +0000

September in the tropics! Always interesting.

This year I was in the Dominican Republic for Gustav and The Cayman Islands for Hannah and Ike. In both cases we were pretty far away from any danger. Although the reprorting on TV seemed to be catastrophic in both places we had hardly any rain and not that much wind.
You can never take these things lightly and the impoverished country of Haiti is always at great risk. They normally suffer from flooding because of rain and the fact that there is no trees to stop erosion and mud slides. Ufortunately they have destroyed thier own natural resources and it creates big problems for them.

You are right about the Cayman Islands. Its a very well built, affluent Island that can withstand high winds and storm surge. The building codes here on the Island are better than just about any other Island and even better than a lot of the US Coastal cities.
You only have to spend a few days here to realize the quality of the construction and the safety it provides.

I have been here for big storms like Ivan a few years back. it was a category 5 and had winds of up to 180 miles per hour. We had electricity in town a few days later and things were back to normal very quickly. Even the cruise ships started coming back within a couple months.
Every region in the world is subject to some kind of natural disaster, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes and blizzards affect a lot of people in the world.
In a place like the Cayman Islands the risks are much lower than other Caribbean countries, the infrastructure and resources make it one of the best places to invest and live in the Caribbean.

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone on the Gulf Coast.Preparing for the worst is always the best way to get through these storms. Stay safe!
Craig

By: Jim Walberg

Jim Walberg — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:12:11 +0000

Thanks for checking in again, Courtney. You have made comments in the past regarding one of the very special islands in the Caribbean – the Cayman Islands. And, you are correct about the devastation that a hurricane can cause. I believe that one of the reasons why the Caymans pay such close attention to the condition of their islands after any storm is it is critical for them to have a consistent “package” in Paradise for tourists and guests. It is the basis of their entire economy. In addition, they have a higher GNP than most of the Caribbean islands because of them being the banking center for much of the off-shore banking in the world. The Caymans were drenched with wind and rain the past few weeks, but they were blessed to miss out on the full impact of the hurricanes. I will be visiting the project at the Waterford Residence Club soon, on Grand Cayman, and it is always like coming home. Enjoy your day.
Jim

By: Caribbean Residence Clubs

Caribbean Residence Clubs — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:42:45 +0000

Hi Jim,
Hurricanes are scary storms and can be devastating especially to land surrounded by water. Grand Cayman is fortunate to be somehow out of the way of most projected storms. I can attest though first hand to being on the island when a storm does hit -the recovery is fast and the island is cleaned up and back to better then new before you can blink an eye unlike other places (including USA) that take years to be back to “normal”.
~Courtney