Caymans slowly recovering from Ivan
 | |
| |
| YOUR COMMENTS | Are you in the path of Hurricane Ivan, or have you already been affected? Tell us about your experience.
Click here to read replies.
|
 VIDEO |
 A direct hit by a hurricane would flood New Orleans.
 Beaches in Florida are threatened with damage and erosion.
 Ivan topples power lines and causes massive flooding in Cuba.
|
RELATED |
• Caymans battered by Ivan
|
| CATEGORY 5 HURRICANES | U.S. landfalls:
- Unnamed storm, 1935, Florida
- Camille, 1969, Mississippi
- Andrew, 1992, Florida
Source: NOAA
|
|
(CNN) -- A representative of the Cayman Islands has said that the island nation is getting back on its feet after the weekend onslaught of Hurricane Ivan.
Despite the storm's fury, only one person has been confirmed dead, according to chief government information officer Patricia Ebanks.
Another islander is missing and presumed dead, she said.
A large number of the islands' 45,000 residents have been left homeless and are staying with friends or relatives or in shelters.
A preliminary evaluation of the eastern part of Grand Cayman island and the capital, George Town -- home to about two-thirds of the island's residents -- found 15 percent to 20 percent of homes had been destroyed, and another 50 percent had suffered major damage, she said.
Only 5 percent to 10 percent survived unscathed, she said. Other areas had not yet been assessed, she said.
Gov. Bruce Dinwiddy has imposed an overnight curfew and looting has been only sporadic, Ebanks said.
The chief executive of the main telephone company on the island called Wednesday for military intervention to ensure calm.
"This needs to happen today," said Timothy Adam, chief executive of Cable & Wireless, in an open letter published in Caribbean Net News.
"I got caught in traffic right beside a site where police had shot several times at a looter and had detained him, and there was a near riot -- a very volatile situation to which police responded promptly with heavy assault weapon teams," he said.
The island's power supply had not been turned back on and police were operating in total darkness, he said.
Communication by anyone on the island, including police, remains sp, he said.
Police were using cell phones where coverage was available, and the government radio system, which does not cover all areas of the island, he said.
In George Town, Ivan destroyed central police headquarters, which has been moved to the first floor of the island's telecommunication bunker, he said.
The 911 Emergency Communications Center is also there.
"All the islands' internal and external telecommunications are entirely dependent on the continued operation of this site," he said in the letter, which pleaded for military guards to be posted at the building.
"If we lose this site, we have lost the country."
Ebanks said Adam's concerns were understandable, but maintained that the security situation was rapidly returning to normal.
"We do not think it's a major issue."
Just three or four people were arrested Tuesday night for looting and two were taken in for violating the curfew, she said.
In George Town, supermarkets were giving to residents groceries that would have spoiled without refrigeration.
"We've seen very-well behaved lines of people going in to get their supplies," Ebanks said.
Government trucks were taking food and water to shelters in each district, she added.
The airport re-opened on Wednesday and the retail banking sector should be up and running by next week, she said.
The United States -- the main source of business and tourism -- is sending "a lot of support," Ebanks said.
Home Depot and the New York Fire Department are coordinating a relief response, and Habitat for Humanity is sending supplies, she said.
In addition, the Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines are preparing responses. Cruise ships take about 2 million visitors to the island each year.
Chase Manhattan Bank has set up a Cayman Islands relief fund to which donations are already coming in.
