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- - - 2001 Hurricane Season - - -

- Better late than never
  • From: "rees david" <bahamaboy151 AT hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 21:49:02 +0000
Dear Gert,
          well, it's all over now. Michelle has come and gone. And the eye 
passed directly over Nassau when i thought it would- 10am. at about 7:30am 
monday morning, the winds were blowing at about 65-75mph, not too bad. about 
5 minutes later, everything went quiet, and the eye was upon us. The high 
tide was at the same time as the eye passed over, and from what i could see, 
was about 4-5 feet higher than usual. there was almost no damage, and alot 
of people assumed that the storm was over. me and my parents and brother 
listened to the radio in our living room, and heard reports of 'gangs' of 
people out in the streets wandering around. i must say that alot of people 
thought that the storm was over, because the eye was so wide. one of my dads 
friends was supposedly lighting a grill to cook steaks!!! some people began 
to take down shutters and others were out driving to see what had happened. 
me and my brother went out and looked around for about an hour, because on 
the radar, we could see that the eye was very large, and strong winds were 
about another three hours away. we took some photos, but mostly looked. we 
were home in time for the other side of the eye to come over us. we heard on 
the radio "the wind is gusting to 93mph at gambier village" and then "the 
weather is fierce now at texaco seaside on east bay street." i went to my 
neighbors house, and we both live on the sea, so we could see clearly the 
pitch black clouds coming for us. when the second side of the eye hit us, 
the winds and rain were much stonger. tide was high, and the waves hitting 
the shoreline at Fox Hill Creek were atleast 10 feet high. i'll put it like 
this: our seafront has a large, concrete wall about 13 feet high. waves were 
breaking over this with ease! our yard was full of seawater, and our 
grandmothers yard, which is right next to us, had about two feet of seawater 
on the lawn. All wooden docks on eastern road east of Dicks Point, were 
ripped away, broken up, or severely damaged. my neighbors dock ended up on 
his patio ten feet higher and twenty feet inland of where it origionally 
was. several large concrete docks were destroyed also. our 25' boat sank as 
a result of waves coming over the seawall into our little pool, but we 
bailed it out by hand at low tide, and saved the motor for the time being. 
there was not that much inland damage, except for flooding in low-lying 
areas (up to some peoples waists)and alot of large trees down across the 
roads. there were few power lines down, but BEC had to shut the power off 
due to live wires and water (not a good combination!!). the worst thing was 
that the strongest part of the hurricane hit during the high tide- this 
caused flooding, severe coastal erosion, and high waves in the harbour. i 
might add that the fetch for those 13 foot waves is only about 1 1/2 to 2 
miles. anyway, if there is anything else that you would like to know, just 
ask me at bahamaboy151 AT hotmail.com.

sincerely,
        David Rees



- Last Michelle Update
  • From: "Sarah McCorquodale" <bigbite AT batelnet.bs>
  • Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 22:25:29 -0500
Well Folks here we are on the other side...
Nassau has come through quite well.  Lost a lot of trees (including one of
my personal favourites, a lot of wind and salt burnt plants, broken tree
limbs, shutters-awnings & roof tiles.  Some structures have lost roofs but
they are an exception.  As I mentioned before flooding was the major part of
this disaster and for some people in low lying areas the damage will be
quite a bit worse and recovery will take a little longer.
Road crews were out today and the activity from the Government is nice to
see.  At last word power had been restored to majority of the island and all
major roads were made clear of fallen trees and debris.  The Bahamas Defence
Force was mobilized last night to try and reduce the incidences of looting
that were unfortunately a large part of Floyd.
All the airlines have resumed service and after a heavy day of cleaning,
removal and repair we will be able to open the restaurant tomorrow for
lunch.
Lastly, I would like to thank all of the people who have sent their best
wishes and prayers for us.  Your words of support, encouragement and advice
have been greatly appreciated.
If your ever in Nassau I hope you'll pay us a visit,
All the very Best,
Sarah


- Michelle
  • From: "Sarah McCorquodale" <bigbite AT batelnet.bs>
  • Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 07:53:31 -0500
Well we awoke this morning to sunny blue skies but the wind is still pretty
stiff.  I lost power just as I sent the last update and found it restored
only this morning when we woke up.
The back side of Michelle was far more nasty than the front side.  We have
lost most of our trees but Thank Goodness no reported injuries on the
Island.
From the news reports the worst damage was due to flooding.  Some
unfortunate people were reporting water waist high and higher.
My husband managed to get down to Crocodile's before night fell (walking)
and we have managed to suffer only minimal damage.  Two coconuts snapped in
half, saltwater damage to our electrical systems, and due to an improperly
moored Haitian Smack we have lost a section of our seawall.  All occupants
on board rode out the storm in the bathroom.
Just on our way down to begin clean up - I will send an eyewitness update
later in the day
Thanks to everybody for their thought and good wishes
Sarah & David McCorquodale


- Michelle's Landing
  • From: "Sarah McCorquodale" <bigbite AT batelnet.bs>
  • Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2001 08:47:44 -0500
Whew!! - is all that Bahamians should be saying this morning.  The eye has
just passed over us and the wind is beginning to clock back around.  Reports
from our security guard on the harbour say that the tropical wind damage is
minimal, but with high tide still 2 hours away there should be an increase
in the flooding of low lying areas.  The South Shore (Yamacraw, Coral
Harbour etc) was evacuated last night due to worries of surge and rain
accumulation but on the plus side again is the lack of rain on the back side
of this storm.
Power is reported out in a few districts, but our remains on with only a few
fluctuations in the night. A telephone check with friends shows only
previously undiscovered leaks and low spots.  The North side of Paradise
Island and a friend in Fox Hill have all reported in fine.
We will let this wind die down and try to get a look at Crocodile's at 2:00
or so...
I will write again after we get back (and if Bahamas Electric is willing)
Sarah
bigbite AT batelnet.bs


- michelle in nassau
  • From: "David Rees" <bahamaboy151 AT hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 23:52:39 -0500
well, it's here already. it's rained since 8 this morning and the wind has been increasing all day. the wind now is gusting up to about 50mph and is constant at about 35-40. we've had about 8 1/2 to 10 inches of rain and it's really starting to come down now. most people boarded up, but a few didn't, thinking that the storm would miss us again. according to several weather sources, the eye will pass closest to us on New Providence around 10am tomorrow. that will be at high tide, and the storm surge could cause flooding in certain areas, and more than likely will, as it did with Floyd a few years ago. we're on the north shore in the harbour, near Fox Hill Creek, opposite the narrows. so we're fairly protected from any large waves. there have been alot of boats going into the marinas today, and there are currently two large freighters anchored in the harbour, and riding out the storm. the waves in the harbour are about 2-3 feet, but are about 8+ feet outside the harbour. if the phone lines hold up, i will e-mail you the conditions tomorrow. until then, we'll just have to see what happens,
             
                David Rees
                      e-mail: bahamaboy151 AT hotmail.com

- Michelle's Approach
  • From: "Sarah McCorquodale" <bigbite AT batelnet.bs>
  • Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 23:22:50 -0500
We are getting conflicting news regarding Michelle's final approach into
Nassau.  According to the Bahamas Met - the eye is now expected to be 20
miles NNW of Nassau by 8:00 to 10:00 A.M. (Unfortunately well within the
hurricane eye) and they are telling us to prepare for a 6 - 12 foot surges
and battering waves. Terribly bad news for Crocodile's...
She has passed quicker than expected over Cuba and has now emerged over the
Florida Straits.  South Andros is now experiencing 50 knot winds and expects
Tropical Force within hours.
People have spent this evening getting those shutters up but conditions are
starting to rapidly change. Strong gusts and rain showers are now here
making outside terribly uncomfortable.
We have sealed the final shutters in place and are settling in for the long
night.
A bientot
Sarah


- From Shirley Gross
  • From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
  • Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 17:47:53 -0500 (EST)
Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 17:31:01 -0500
From: Shirley Gross <fsgross AT batelnet.bs>

Hi Gert,

I was just able to go on line as we have been having power problems
periodically today, so have been without power for the most part.  This;
however, has nothing to do with the storm.
I talked to BEC, Rock Sound and they will keep the power going as long as
they can tomorrow and then will pull the power for the island.

We live just a mile north of James Cistern on Eleuthera.  Yes, we are
boarded up and have our hurricane shelter prepared.  We have been through
tons of hurricanes, but two major ones, Andrew and Floyd and have weathered
them in our small but protected shelter.

People are preparing on the island.  Some are boarding.  At first the
Bahamians didn't want to think we would have another hurricane especially at
this time of the year, but finally are making preperations.  The weather has
been so bad around here for two weeks, windy, cloudy, and rainy.  Tomorrow
will tell the tale.  Thank you for your update.  I will try and go on line
tomorrow to see what you have forcasted at that time.

Shirley Gross





- from the bahamas
  • From: "T. Wright" <lpcgirl69 AT hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 04 Nov 2001 20:31:05 +0000



hi there i live in Nassau, bahamas presently at this time we are have light showers, everyone here are take precautions we have already started protecting our homes and purchasing our supplies.  all of our schools are closed tomorrow and tuesday and we are all awaiting "Michelle"


SWEET 'T'


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- Bahamas vs. Michelle
  • From: "Sarah McCorquodale" <bigbite AT batelnet.bs>
  • Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 16:17:03 -0500
The sounds of hammers can be heard throughout Nassau today.  A solid rain
started early this morning with a good breeze and you can feel them both
picking up slowly.  We are expecting Gale Force winds by this evening.
Unfortunately the preparations in the Bahamas usually come last minute and
only approximately half of all the buildings have shutters up.  This also
makes people a little more tense, with long lines at the grocery stores and
the lumber supply yard tempers are a little short.
Although Michelle will be moving quickly, our restaurant is on the harbour
and we are praying that she visits during low tide.  We are all battened
down and have left a security camera rolling to capture what we can of the
storm.  Almost all of the boats anchored in the harbour have found
alternative arrangements, but a few have decided to just ride it out on the
hurricane chains.
The Atlantis Resort is once again generously offering to shelter those in
need.
Lastly, our thoughts & wishes go out to all those who have sat beneath this
storm for so many days...
A bientot,
Sarah




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