September 29, 2004 - Jeanne has now departed and the north winds it brought apparently got what the more easterly and southerly winds of Frances missed.  Here is a note form Nail at UNEXSO to update us on our friends on Grand Bahama.

"Well we got walloped by both Frances and Jean.  Chikako, Kai and I are all well as is all of the staff at UNEXSO, we were so lucky not to have many fatalities on the island. 

"My house was five and a half feet underwater with Frances then Jean lifted the roof up which destroyed about a quarter of the tiles now the whole roof needs replacing.  Woody's was ok for Frances but Jean brought a very high tide on his side and he was flooded just below his electrical sockets. Even Mr. Churchill's house did not escape damage the water mark was above his sockets. 

"Cristina was lucky not to have damage to her own place but has been looking after so many different friends places she is running around like a woman possessed. 

"UNEXSO lost some of its roof and a couple of boat roofs but apart from that was really lucky to escape comparatively lightly.  Pelican bay has lost most of the tiles of the roof.  Xanadu has closed its doors until November 1st.  UNEXSO has had to lay off quite allot of staff, (none from Dive staff yet). 

"Well Chip just thought I would update you as to the situation down here.  Bye for now !"  - Niall, Chikako & Kai.

September 17, 2004 -  Reports from the island indicate that the clean-up is in full swing, but that power is off in many areas and along with it, phone service.  Schools have been unable to open due to the power problems. 

Although supplies to the island are getting better, there are still long lines at stores for water, bread and other food stuff.

The damage to the island has been extensive.  The west end and 8 mile rock were particularly hit.  The old airport building was destroyed but the new building survived pretty well.  Our Lucaya Westin property had some 1000 room damaged by the storm and currently plans on opening on October 1 with about 300 rooms available.  Many other hotels report similar damage.

East of Bell Channel and Freeport City itself faired much better. 

UNEXSO lost part of it's roof but is operational.  Xanadu lost it's roof and is severely damaged.  There is no word yet as to their operation status or expectation thereof.

Many people are homeless, but relief workers many form the US are doing a good job tending to the problems.

Unfortunately the problems for Grand Bahama are not over.  Hurricane Jeanne is scheduled to be in the area over the weekend.  Although it winds are much less that previous storms, they are still hurricane strength and god do sever damage to an Island fighting to get back on it feet.

September 10, 2004 -

Grand Bahama is recovering but is substantially damaged.  Here is a link to a web page where various dive operations throughout the Bahamas have listed their status.

http://www.williamcline.com/hg/guestbook.html

Here is a message from Cristina Zenato on Grand Bahama.

“Got the chance to use a generator from a neighbor and attached my computer to it, just to let you know, there is still no power on the island and the water comes in the morning and then in the afternoon, everything is still closed, no restaurants or shops are open, the Westin Our Lucaya lost 600 rooms to damages, Pelican Bay lost the roof everywhere and all the rooms were flooded, so most of the places on the island lost roofs and/or got flooded, never seen something like this in my life. We have phone lines, UNEXSO lost part of the roof, but the operational part of the building is fine, just please remember there is still no power anywhere.

“UNEXSO people are all fine, Niall and Chikago’s home suffered the flooding and at the moment are living with Woody and June.  Chris's family’s house in Queen's Cove suffered more then 6 ft of flooding ...600 homes were totally lost, 1700 homes are uninhabitable. Grand Bahama is on its knees, but everybody is working really hard to get back in shape.”

Cristina

   September 7, 2004 - As we hear in the news about the devastation of Florida please keep in mind that the Bahamas have also felt the brunt of the storm and one of the most devastated islands is Grand Bahama, where many of our friends and fellow SeaDevils are.  Many of us also have friends in other islands affected including Abaco, Exuma, Inagua and the Turks and Caicos.

    Information is limited.  Grand Bahama is still without electricity and phone service and as a result has neither internet or any other readily available means of communications.  There have been only a few deaths, and personal injuries seem limited but property damage is extensive.

    Here are a couple of recent articles to give you a flavor of what is going on.  Currently Hurricane Ivan is slated to miss the Bahamas, but you can never be sure.

Hurricane damage astounds Bahamas islanders
U.S. answers Bahamas Red Cross call for help
Frances devastates the Caribbean

    Also, here is a link to an astounding photo of Frances approaching Grand Bahama with cloud cover totally obscuring all the Bahama Islands <click here>

    With the power outage, water desalinization and distribution are real problems.  Water is being shipped from Florida.  We are attempting to more readily ascertain conditions on island and to see what we might be able to do to help these people. 

Please Help:

    You can make donations to Grand Bahama Red Cross as follows:

    We have also learned that a mission organization called Island Encounters has been operating youth and adult missions to help the people on Grand Bahama for many years.  They are in place to help rush immediate relief aid to the island and are currently involved in working with Discovery Cruse Line to take water to the island.  You can check out their site <click here> and you can make tax-deductible, credit card donations by contacting Cory L. Curry, Administrator, at 858-573-9361 or via email at cory@islandencounter.com 

    We will keep you informed of our progress on the SeaDevil web site using the "message board" and/or updates to this page.

By now you are all well aware this has been one of the worst hurricane seasons in the Caribbean in recent years. Many islands and several US states have been severely affected by these storms.

PADI International Resort and Retailer Association’s staff has been in contact with dive operators in areas affected by this year’s string of hurricanes, to extend our care and assistance wherever possible. We have also been monitoring new reports and online services to compile reports of recently affected areas to help you plan accordingly. As the hurricane season is not over as of yet, we will continue to collect information and report this on PADI Today. For a current update, visit padi.com and click on Dive News and Information.

Many other relief efforts are underway to assist those seriously affected by these storms. Here are islands that are suffering mightily with imbedded links to an official web site where you can find information about their status and on how you can be of help.

Cayman Islands

Grenada and the Grenadines

Jamaica

also...

Caribbean Tourism Organization

Caribbean Hotel Association

We applaud these efforts and encourage you to contribute accordingly.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those that have been in the path of Hurricane’s Charley, Frances, Ivan, and now Jeanne.

Sincerely,

Bill Hamm
Manager, Memberships and International Resort and Retailer Associations