Clarke and list, We are back on line, although links to the outside world remain tenuous. When IVAN went over Grand Cayman it snapped th fiber optic cable from Florida, and cut us off. We are now going through an old earthstation and some individual satellite links.
IVAN passed about 30 miles south of Jamaica, so most of the damage is along the south coast. You may have seen the CNN coverage of an area called Portland Cottage, which is probably the hardest hit. The north coast fared much better, and overall, I don't think the damage is quite as great as hurricame Gilbert in 1988. However, it's still pretty bad. I'm involved in getting relief supplies to some isolated areas at the moment, and then will be working on reconstruction projects. Grand Cayman is much worse. There seems to have been little CNN coverage on Cayman, but it's a total disaster. We sent a ton of food and water yesterday on the first Air Jamaica flight in. But the whole island will need rebuilding. There is no electricity anywhere, and he reports coming out are very scanty. I'm OK. Just exhuasted from non-stop pre and post hurricane preperation and work. We will get through this and if IVAN doesn't knock down the Ramada at Diamondhead I'll see you all there. Cheers Keith
