Hurricane Jeanne
Situation Reports:
24 Sept - 21:30 EDT
Elbow Cay is buttoned up tight. Phones
are still working and BEC power is on. Winds currently about 30 knots.
No rain yet.
24 Sept - 23:30 EDT
BEC has now cut the power as a preventative
measure. Because of the damage to the phone system back-up batteries caused by
Hurricane Frances on Sept 3rd/4th, this has resulted in an immediate loss of
landline and cellular phone service.
Almost everybody is trying to get a few hours sleep before the storm approaches
tomorrow morning. The HAM Hurricane Watch Net closed down at 23:00 and we do
not anticipate any further communications until daybreak.
25 Sept - 07:15 EDT
Received report from Hope Town via Sat Phone.
No deaths or injuries reported on Elbow Cay.
Eye currently over Hope Town. It is cloudy with a
little bit of blue sky. Winds NW at about 20 knots. Max winds in eyewall were
about 100 knots. Storm surge was about 3-4 feet above normal. All docks under
water. Further report shortly.
25 Sept - 08:00 EDT
Sat phone report from Hope Town.
No deaths or injuries reported on Elbow Cay.
Clear blue sky over Hope Town at about 0750 but now
starting to cloud over. Winds now going around to East.
Docks on west side of Elbow Cay have suffered significant damage, most
destroyed. Seaspray Resort reporting major damage to docks and some boats sunk.
Dune between Rocky Bay and Third Sunrise held. Harbours Edge Restaurant flooded
to about 4 foot depth and docks destroyed. Water in Ball Field is about waist
deep. Boats in Harbour reported as OK. A few homes have suffered major roof
damage.
25 Sept - 08:40 EDT
Sat phone report from Hope Town. No deaths or injuries reported on Elbow
Cay, everybody is well. Wind is still light but air is very humid with only
about half mile visibility.
Tahiti Beach dock reported as seriously damaged. It is not possible to use road
in White Sound due to depth of water from breach caused by Hurricane Frances.
Significant erosion of ocean beach from Hope Town Settlement to North End.
Marsh Harbour reporting major flooding with about 4.5 feet of water in streets.
Boats washed ashore and floating in streets. Jib Room said to be under 2 feet of
water.
25 Sept - 10:00 EDT
Ham radio report from Hope Town.
Back side of storm has now hit. Winds very strong and gusty, 80-85 mph.
Barometer 962.5 mb and rising.
25 Sept - 11:05 EDT
Ham radio report from Hope Town.
Wind is from south, 50 mph steady and gusting 90 mph. Barometer 978.0.
25 Sept - 12:45 EDT
Ham radio report from Little Harbour.
Wind 160 degrees, 80-100 mph. Baro 29.27 rising
25 Sept - 14:05 EDT
Ham report from Hope Town.
Wind 45 knots sustained, gusting 60. Rain lessening. Baro 994.0 mb and rising.
25 Sept - 16:35 EDT
Sat phone report from Hope Town (cut-off in mid call).
Back side of storm was worse. Wind now 45-50 from south with much higher
sporadic gusts. Lots of sand being blown around.
The "Last One" broke loose her mooring in Hope Town and is now up by Mr.
Willard's dock. Some small boats sunk in harbour.
Sports Fisherman that was at Hope Town Marina now on top of dock with stern
partially submerged.
Road to Eastern Shores in Marsh Harbour has been severed at Crossing Beach (Albury's
Ferry Dock).
25 Sept - 18:00 EDT
Heavy rain is preventing sat phone communications with Hope Town
25 Sept - 22:15 EDT
The three Ham radio operators in Abaco have been quiet for
sometime and are not responding to calls. We suspect back-up generator power
problems due to flooding or they are away from the radio.
There was a sat phone call from Hope Town at about 7.00 pm EDT, the details of
which have been relayed to us by a very reliable 3rd party which
was .....
Volunteers were trying to move approximately 5 feet of sand and dock debris from
the Queens Hwy opposite Sunshine Park / HT Harbour Lodge in order that emergency
vehicles could move north or south as required. There were NO, REPEAT NO,
REPORTS OF INJURIES ON ELBOW CAY. It seeems that the island has suffered
significant damage. There were no details about the dune, White Sound or
individual houses or boats communicated.
..... End
We are hoping to re-establish direct communications tomorrow morning and as soon
as we have any further information it will be posted here.
26 Sept - 10:15 EDT
We have re-established contact with Hope Town. Everybody is safe on the island,
there are no injuries. Damage assessments are in progress.
26 Sept - 11:30 EDT
Relayed info from HT .....
All souls accounted for, no concerns for health or welfare. They are working
on the damage assessment.
The breach in the dune in White Sound was quoted by Rocky Bay as "not any
bigger but more defined". People can still move north
and south past the breach.
The dune behind the cholera graveyard had no major loss at that point. The
water from the ballfield came all the way up to Lovers Lane
but stopped short of Vernon's Grocery. Properties on the water at the
entrance to Hope Town Harbour took a beating from NW wind.
Phones within the Settlement are working but not off the island. BEC remains
off.
26 Sept - 16:45 EDT
No concerns on Elbow Cay for health or welfare. Gas and diesel are available at
Lighthouse Marina and Seaspray. All roads have been
cleared to allow vehicle traffic. The only breach in the dune is the one that
was caused by Hurricane Frances - the dune between Rocky Bay
and Third Sunrise held.
From Blue Dolphin : "Marsh Harbour airport is completely underwater with major
damage. Private flights not possible right now. As water drains
will know more tomorrow"
Only local phone service in Hope Town Settlement. BEC remains off.
27 Sept - 00:30 EDT
Full damage assessment is still being worked on. The limited number of personnel
are working hard to make a full and complete assessment
of all properties.
We do have some definitive information on some properties.
Tip O' Tahiti (Dorros Cove) minor damage to lattice
Sandcastle (Dorros Cove) minor shingle & gutter damage
Bali Hai (Dorros Cove) major roof and dock damage
Dorros Cove Dock major damage
Rocky Bay (WS) no damage from Hurricane Jeanne
Harbour Lights (HT) roof detached
Harbours Edge (HT) major structure damage, dock destroyed
end
27 Sept - 16:30 EDT
Cellular Service - It is possible to make outgoing calls only, and only
sometimes, from the
top of the lighthouse. People are climbing the lighthouse and then waving their
phones to try to
get a signal. No incoming calls. Outgoing ( at the top of the lighthouse) is
very sporadic.
Marsh Harbour Airport is open but only private aircraft, Cherokee Air and Abaco
Air are currently flying.
Clypso Air should be flying from the US tomorrow.
27 Sept -18:00 EDT
Damage Report for Elbow Cay
In the interests of getting this information out quickly it is being posted
initally in it's raw format. We will try and tidy up the presentation later this
evening
NAD = no additional damage
If not listed = no damage
Tanny Key- NAD all properties
Lucayos- NAD to all structures except Ray Brown which
lost part of roof gone, water damage, lost majority of deck
Buttonwood- NAD except docks gone
Endless Summer- SE guest house washed down to road
New Ocean Front house beween Summer Winds & Atlantic Horizons - Lattice
Atlantic Horizons- Ocean side upper deck, lost a storm shutter
Rock Point- 4 x 6 foot slab of concrete lost off SE corner
Tilloo Cut- Roof damage
Tip O' Tahiti - lattice, gazebo and guest house OK. Pool full of salt water.
Bali Hai Cottage - dock damage, roof damage, screen porch and porch
Bali Hai- EXTENSIVE sea wall and deck gone, roof and skylight
Storr Haven- entire north wall of house gone
Octagon house- Garage blown down
Big Bamboo- work shed damaged
Las Brisas- widows walk blown down
Sandcastle- minor shingle, gutters
Paradise- dock lost
D Sullivans new house- dock lost
Conched Out- lost dock
Four Winds- lost dock
Tahiti Beach- road to dock impassable due to sand and debris. Tahiti
beach dock still standing but badly damaged. Boat lift still in place.
Reports from Bonnie Hall:
Marnie's Creek docks are badly damaged, houses in this area look OK
Sea Spray dock NOT damaged as previously reported. Boats there seem OK (they are
floating) There is damage to part of the dock. Water invasion in
restaurant and their villas. Did not see anything else significant.
Abaco Inn- Point Rooms- hole in the roof (blue sky) boats in yard,
Richard's sailboat is up next to the trees
Rocky Bay- Homeowners here, some water in house still standing
Houses in Saga Point (Serenity) area seem fine no visible damage from road, await
specific report.
White Sound Public (SWP) dock gone
Reporting: Elbow Cay Properties and Sea Glass Property Management:
Momma's Marlin- house intact, eaves damage, interior ceiling insulation
damage, blown in interior on NW side bedroom, laundry room doors gone
Las Olas- Sand scouring, NW corner on shingles
Sea Star, couple of shutters sown, minor rail damage , damage to W.
Gazebo
Star of the Sea, Shingles missing, Sand
Snorkey- FLoating pretty, clean up, sand on deck
Ron and Jane Engle- house fine
Kiwi house- Fine, AC ducts down
Vince- Shingles
Horizons- No additional damages, looks goods inside and out.
Skyward- water inside but it will dry
Crossing Bay house OK, roof OK, dock and beach steps gone
Down through- NAD
Sea to Sea- dock gone and gutters
Lofty Dunes- boat house is fine, house good and dry inside, NE dock fine
Madrigal Cottage house fine, Copula gone, found in yard
Maxfields,. - fine
Leeside- water all the way up to house- dry foundations cracked
Pink House- major shingle loss
Habitat- looks good, trees down
Puck Cottage, lost singles
Chappels House- Lost shutters. Jill P is going to check inside
The Siege- Lots of damage
Sea Breeze- looks good, 2-3 feet water in basements
N. Star- looks good, a few shingles
N'or Easter 1 and 2- exterior looks good, couldn't get stutters off to
look inside
Doc's hideaway- Tin roof on shed gone
Warfield-- gen roof blown off, gutters gone
Silver Plume (Klines) NAD
Suncliffe (shrier) lost shingles-- no steps to beach
High Hopes- house OK, NAD, beach steps gone
Cash House structure OK, tidal surge flooding, floors carpets soaked
with saltwater inside, AC shot
West Point, NAD
Coral Point, NAD
Jib- fence down, more gutters down, haven't been inside
Chrysalis NAD
Waters edge- Nad- Unsure about studio
Krout- sand blasted
Benami- Dock blown way up, sandblasted
Whimsey- have not been inside, sand, dock a different shape
Aiken- seems OK from outside, dock humped
Wynne Rae- OK
Lime Tree- NAD
Savannah Hill- Fine
Palmetto Crest-- lost shingles, additional damage
Meridian- big doors blew in, water inside
Twin Dolphin- dock gone
Sublime-- more roof damaged, structure OK
North end:
Key West- NAD, more water inside upstairs and down, Will report fully to
owner
Magnuson - deck NM side gazebo severely damaged
Therapy- dock house has hole in roof, Main house roof looks OK. Dock 1/2
and 3/4 gone. Did not check at inside yet
Smooth Rocks- dock and dock house totalled,. house structure OK, screens
on porch blew in and windows in porch area open
Dougherty - Sea Watch not shuttered. will check tomorrow
TOWN:
Docks : Public docks OK, Sailing Club dock OK. Some damage to private
docks.
Daisy's place-- deck across the end of road, Pete Michie says water pushed
up floorboards inside
Lloyd Nobles houseboat houses- Flattened
Flamingo Villas -deck pushed up
Sea House- Patched wall seems to have held, Ira checked today
Harbours Edge- totalled- had 3 feet of water inside, Clay says will have to be demolished.
St James Church- roof damaged, floor and carpet wet. Carpet will need replacement.Organ and carillon fine.
Albe's house- roof stayed on but leaked- dry now
Clinic- OK
Post Office - OK
Vernon's and Harbourview Grocery - Open
Hope Town Lodge - pool area to road covered with sand
Lighthouse Marina - open
School - Water in classrooms, AC dented, fencing damaged
Munchies and Straw shop - seem ok but window upstairs came down
Batelco station - water inside on floor
Merlees Place, left french door blew open and broke- had to have water
etc. inside
Toad Hall- some shutters came off- windows look OK
Museums -OK
Sweetings Landing- fence down
Lena's Landing- blue sky hole in roof
Stephanie Humblestone Eagle Rock= house looks OK from shore
"Last One" blew into Willards' dock with minimal damage to both
Fire house doors blew open, lost north window shutter, inside looked OK,
engines 1 and 2 up and running
Phones are working on island but can't call off island
Cherokee phone tower down so cell service available only from top of
lighthouse (see later post).
BEC says it will be a long time before power is restored. Major poles
and lines down in MH. Lines down in HT, due to flooding; all boxes and
transformers have to be checked
Phones will be at least 5 to 6 weeks before landlines work
>From Willard Bethel
Jack McGueggan Dock house- House still structurally there. 10 inches of
water in kitchen area. roof damage. shingles blown off
Betty Schoonmaker- wind chimes- damage to roof on N side and 2 feet of
water at ground level
Margaret Green-Sandpiper- Downstairs has 8-10 inches of water. Flooded
completely, even fridge was floating. Roof intact. Dock busted
Patric Griffin- Griffin house- no major damage
Ira Sochet - Sheree's way- no water damage but sandblasted- damage is
minimal
Sally Goodrich- Hope Chest -Outside seams OK but alot of sand
throughout the property. Major damage to dock, only 50 feet left, the rest
in the main harbour.
Alex Gallup-Pink and Green Dolphin-both intact only sand damage
Allan Trimmer - Breezy- intact, minor sand damage
John Henreich - House intact. One window minimum damage. inside , some
things on floor
Mary Ogelsny - Lucayos- intact- trees down
Krafft, Carissa Cottage - minimal damage some shingles
Southern Fancy -small hole in roof over dining room. some shingles
gone,. probably water damage, sea wall intact, dock some damage
END
27 Sept - 19:15 EDT
Cellular service is now back up and appears to be working as normally as it ever
did on Elbow Cay. Heavy volume may restrict calls.
27 Sept - 20:000 EDT
Addendum to damage report
Barefoot Beach - no shutters - french doors blown in both sides of house. extensive interior damage. extensive shingle damage.
27 Sept - 22:00 EDT
Cell phone service appears to be down again.
28 Sept - 12:00 EDT
General Update
The cell phone service is working
from the Cherokee tower and international calls can be received and made
but circuits are very busy. The best reception area seems to be in Dorros Cove.
Albury's ferry service started service on Monday and is running a normal
schedule today. Banks in Marsh Harbour are
open for limited hours today. Some schools open and others expected to re-open
tomorrow.
Seaspray does not currently have diesel but is expected to receive resupply
shortly. They have also been experiencing
generator problems which are being worked on today. Expected to be serving lunch
today if generator fixed.
28 Sept - 12:10 EDT
Addendum to damage report
No additional damage to any structure on Lubbers. All docks had damage. Only major
damage was to George Patterson's roof, which came off.
28 Sept - 23:00 EDT
Addendum to damage report
Twin Dolphin Point - dock badly damaged ("gone"); beach gone, office plexy
blew out
Elbow Cay Club -dock sea wall gone, roof on a smaller building came off, storm
surge reported on the property
29 Sept - 13:30 EDT
The latest word from Hope Town is that power may be restored in
2-3 weeks. Batelco is laying a new fibre optic
line from Sandy Point to Marsh Harbour but the timing on landline phone service
is still unknown.
The cell phone service from the Cherokee Tower is still working but signal
quality is very poor and circuits are very busy.
30 Sept - 11:30 EDT
Marsh Harbour airport is now open and flights, both commercial and private are
operating normally to/from the
United States.
The power remains off on Elbow Cay.
30 Sept - 12:00 EDT
Addendum to damage report
From Willard Bethel
Fran's Fancy- Dock gone, only a few posts remain; few shingles off roof.
Not able to go inside, will send info when we can
Worthington-- pump house destroyed completely, main house seems ok, some
water in turbine. Half of dock is gone. Claim insurance?
Cornish Cay- basically as before, a little more trash
Little Parrot- dock raised up a little, house intact
30 Sept - 22:00 EDT
Addendum to Damage Report
From Carrie Cash - Elbow Cay Properties
The insurance adjustors have been to quite a few of our properties
after Jeanne. We’re working hard to get the claims taken care of. Some
of your properties need to be attended to immediately – Sublime,
Chrysalis, Krouts, Palmetto Crest, Wanamakers, Hatchet House are number
one priority. We cannot assess all of the electrical ie pumps, a/cs
etc. If they were on the ground, they’re probably trashed. Here’s our
assessment of the houses.
Don Aiken: Lots of sand, the ceiling in the bedroom closest to Nigh
Creek came down. We pulled out the rest plus all wet insulation. Dock
has some minor damage. The adjustor is with Don now.
Doug Behrendt: Gazebo screening gone, “dive” platform looked ok.
Basement flooded. Don thinks everything is ok. The adjustor has been
there
Godfrey Thomas New pergo flooring ruined. Sand blasted all paint, dock is badly “humped” with boat house in tact.
Steve Best More water inside – but not quite as bad as Frances
Peggy Brawly Lots of tree damage. The house fared ok. The adjustor has been there.
Billy Cash Major roof damage; storm surge swept under the
house-everything is full of salt water. We removed the carpet,
linoleum, and now we have to remove the sub floor. The adjustor has
been there. Central a/c, pumps, H/W heater, are useless. The new deck
and tile work are ok. Fridge & stove are a write off, too.
Marge Colley From the inside, the house looks like we could rent it
tomorrow. The adjustor has been there The insurance adjustor is getting
a structural engineer to look at it as the foundation seems to have
shifted a bit.
Day Shelmire House did well this time. The shed went under water again. More sand in laundry room.
Jim Laughlin Down Thru had no additional damage from this storm.
Crow’s Nest porch screening blew in. Lost some gutters and shingles.
The adjustor has been there. Down Thru has a dock as does Nest Egg.
Crow’s Nest’s dock, ramp and the rental docks are history.
Olivia Dyer Chrysalis really leaked! Major roof damage. The interior
walls and ceiling show water damage, some siding is gone, salt water
throughout the house. Sea water in basement…Mr. Spence’s family had a
lot of damage after Frances so he is unavailable now. The adjustor has
been there. We have “dried in the roof”. I have estimates for three
types of roofs-regular shingles, architectural shingles, or a Bermuda
roof using hardy board.
Paul Gooding Habitat did well.
Tom & Ruth Harkins House and boat house ok. Need some new guttering. House feels dry inside.
Geoff Holding More roof damage in main house. Studio has some water inside and a few shingles gone./ Porch railing damaged.
Phil Jensen Nothing additional that we can see. All pumps, etc. are a write off. The adjustor has been there
Jim & Betty Klein No additional problems that we can see
John Koerner Half of dock is gone, sea water through out the basement. Central A/c is a write off.
Ann & John Krout Major roof damage. Generator is probably a
write-off. Linoleum on first floor is wet with salt water. The adjustor
has been there. We are tarping the roof and airing out. Dock has a big
hump in the middle of it.
Ricky Lait No additional external damage. Have not been inside yet.
Ken Langston The adjustor has been there. Shed roof blew off. Don went
inside today and opened up a few windows. Everything is dry.
Tom Bata Some more singles went but not too bad. The adjustor has been there
Colin Buffin More roof damage, The adjustor has been there. Pumps are gone.
Bud Manley Cupola blew off roof. We think it’s in Sea-to-Sea’s yard. Have not been inside.
Tom Maxfield Looks fine from outside. Have not been inside
Jim Modisette some dock damage
Adelle Pollock More roof damage. Second whirly bird gone. A/C’s need
replacing. Guttering gone, needs lots of paint. Dock is gone.
Glen Pritchard NE1 has some water damage on ceiling inside and porch.
Central a/c, pumps etcetera are probably shot. The adjustor has been
there. NE2 has about the same damage. The adjustor has been there.
Molly Rice New roof is needed. Ceilings on second floor are all water
stained. Kitchen had salt water on all counters. Generator is shot.
Water inside shop on harbour. Deck railing is partially gone, awning is
completely finished. NEED ADJUSTOR. We are tarping roof and airing
things out.
Kenneth Roberts More leaks around windows mainly. Dining room table is damaged. Kitchen floor tiles came up…
Peter Schmidt Needs a lot of work! North side door twisted out of framing, the back wall seems unstable.
Al Shapiro Dock is gone! The adjustor has been there. New roof looks
good. We’re checking inside today. More trees down. Tons of broken up
junk in road that washed in with the storm surge.
Jim Sheldon House did well again. . The adjustor has been there
Joe Shrier More dune gone but house deck is still there. Steps to beach
(which isn’t there) are gone. Some water damage on floor in bedroom.
The adjustor has been there.
Marty Skovish House did well. A/c is probably a write off…
Alan Barnes Sundancer had a bit of water in dining room. Vinyl cover on
roof blew off on north side. Jerry tacked it down yesterday. Valentines
lost it’s pergola and some porch railing. Have not been downstairs yet
but upstairs fared well.
Natalie Javier Westwind did not do as well this time. The north bedroom
is flooded with rainwater. We think it came through the vent pipe; the
south bedroom is very sandy, the garage door blew off; the window in
the old office leaked sand and water around the frame; the kitchen is
flooded with salt water. We think it came thru the chimney when it lost
it’s cap. The old roof did ok – a bundle of shingles will do it
although it will need to be tarred and painted again. All that is left
of the dock are the pilings. The yard is a HUGE mess!
Jim Warfield Generator roof blew off; the other shed tipped over. The adjustor has been there
Bill Klemman Lots more sand, a few shingles, but basically no additional damage
Ben Franklin No add’l damage although the beams in the gazebo(s) a shaky; the pool has more sand…
If some of you want to come down to help clean up, please remember that there is no
power, phones, no cell service unless you climb to the top of the lighthouse – and even
then it does not work all the time; and no internet. We’re told power and phones won’t be
up for three to five weeks although it could be less if the underwater cable isn’t
damaged.. The Harbour Lodge has rooms. We have cancelled all October rentals.
We are working to be up and running by November 1. If you have a credit balance with
us and/our hurricane insurance, we are proceeding with all necessary repairs that we can
cover out of your accounts. For uncovered damages ie. docks, walkways, yards – some of
these are going to cost quite a bit and we are going to need some money.
The government is waiving duty on everything that needs to be replaced (you’ll have to
prove you lost it in these storms) for the next 60 days.
End
01 Oct - 10:45 EDT
International phone service has now been restored to Hope Town. Please be aware
however that areas served by fibre optic
cable are still not working because the roadside switches require power (which
remains off).
You should be able to reach phones in the Settlement but areas like White Sound,
Dorros Cove and Marnie's Creek are
still out.
01 Oct - 22:10 EDT
In view of the fact that landline communications have now been restored to the
Settlement area of Elbow Cay, this page will not be
updated beyond this point.
For those you made donations to HTVFR we offer our sincere thanks and please
excuse the fact that it may take a little longer than
normal for us to acknowledge your contribution.