The winds started to pick up on Saturday morning and we thought it best that a friend staying with us should leave immediately as he was due to fly the BA flight that afternoon. That was a wise decision as things went from bad to worse. The Island lost power by midday and soon after communications were out. During the day we were able to watch our garden being ripped to shreds and heard numerous trees fall and branches crack. The rainfall became very heavy once the eye past and then things really got hairy.
We took a direct hit but came out of it well, with only minor damage to the house. The garden is devastated but that will all grow again.
The people of St Lucia are a resilient lot but there have been several deaths, many landslides, washing whole communities away and the damage to roads is overwhelming. There is no access from north to south and the trip to the airport is by water or air. Some folks are getting the mini buses to take them to one side of a huge landslide, getting out and walking through a steep sided muddy pass for an hour and a half and then getting into buses on the other side! We can’t see the tourists doing that but for the time being they are not being admitted to the country until we have the proper infrastructure in place again.
Our biggest problem on the Island is there is no water as the reservoir is full of mud and trees and all the pumping stations are inaccessible and the pumps have seized up with mud. It’s a mess.
We feel a little guilty here as our lives are returning to normal and we can't complain about the minor damage we have suffered. We met a young couple who hitched a ride on a boat from Soufriere, they got out of their house seconds before it was swept away in a mud slide and then walked 10 miles in the middle of the hurricane to find shelter. So many stories like that are emerging.
Our local German guy/ engineer is trying to get a network of pipes to get water to the village from various storage tanks, not being used, under people's houses. On construction sites, tanks are made first and they are full of water. The supply won't last long but it is a start.
Some of our old builders came round yesterday. They cleaned our gutters and then set to with removing fallen trees. They did a fantastic job. We made them lunch, paid them, had a few beers and then they all had a warm shower with soap and a towel. None of them had had a wash since Saturday so it was much appreciated.
We have HMS Manchester anchored off Soufriere, doing what they can and a French helicopter is also present delivering essential supplies to cut off areas.
Thanks for all your messages. Below is a link to an aerial view of the damage on the Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbPh_Rh7hvE
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