Hurricane Ivan
Dateline Tuesday 14th September 2004
On Tuesday September 7th the eye of the now infamous Hurricane Ivan passed about 60 miles south of Bequia, causing catastrophic damage to our neighbours in Grenada as a Category 3. Bequia itself experienced fearsome hurricane force winds of up to 90 mph for a few hours, and tropical storm conditions for a further eight hours.
Compared to Grenada, Bequia got off lightly, but still sustained quite some storm damage. Trees were felled, some roofs were lost in Paget Farm, La Pompe and Friendship and the beach and some beach front properties at Friendship were badly hit by very heavy seas. Further north, Industry Bay was similarly hard hit, and the Turtle Sanctuary at Park was very severely damaged. But the clean up operation and most necessary repairs got underway immediately, and soon Bequia was pretty much back to normal. Nature will no doubt reverse the beach erosion on the windward side in the fullness of time.
Bequia was without power only for a few hours, thanks to Vinlec, and phone lines remained intact throughout the storm, thanks to Cable & Wireles and Digicel. St. Vincent suffered similar damage to Bequia; further south, in Mayreau, Canouan and Union damage was more severe, but no lives were lost and repairs are ongoing throughout the country.
Bequia helps Grenada
After the storm had passed it quickly became clear that Grenada was in dire need of immediate assistance, and Bequia responded immediately. On the initiative of two of our members, Wilfred Dederer and Nicola Redway, a relief drive was set in motion on the evening of Thursday 9th September.
Coordinating with a shipment organized by Jerry George and the the St. Vincent Chamber of Industry & Commerce, Kelly Glass from Kelectric and in liaison with NEMO (National Emergency Management Org.) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Relief Agency, the Bequia Tourism Association became the focal point for donation and coordination.
Bequia businesses, private individuals, taxi and truck drivers responded quite magnificently. By Saturday afternoon, five truckloads of relief supplies including bottled water, sacks of rice, flour and sugar, other dry goods, canned food, canned milk, box milk, juice, basic toiletries, baby supplies, batteries, flashlights, clothing, bedding, tools, lumber and other building materials, nails of all types, tarpaulins and plastic sheeting had been collected. Cash donations from residents and tourists totaled over $EC1,600 and this was immediately used to purchase more relief supplies.
The generosity of the people of Bequia was truly heart-warming. At 6.15pm on Saturday evening the M/V Glenconner arrived from St. Vincent with donated relief supplies from the mainland and the loading of Bequia's massive contribution, sitting ready on the dock on trucks and palettes, could finally begin. A large crowd had gathered for the send-off, and a human chain was formed to load the seemingly endless piles of sacks, boxes and cases of water onto the boat.
The M/V Bequia Express, loaded with heavy equipment donated by Kelectric, accompanied the Glenconner down to Grenada overnight, and by first light on Sunday both vessels had been escorted safely into the Coast Guard Base at True Blue in Grenada. Distribution by CDERA began immediately, and by midday supplies were reaching those in most need.
As we write, sixty thousand people remain homeless in Grenada, and up to 8000 are housed in 47 shelters. Water supply is critically low or non existent, and the shelters are running out of food and water. The shipment from St. Vincent and the Grenadines was amongst the very first to arrive in Grenada, and Bequia is proud to have made such a major contribution to the relief of their friends, family and neighbours in Grenada. We are all aware that the devastation could have happened to us. We give thanks for being spared, and pray for the people of Grenada in their time of need.
 Water for Grenada - With Love from Bequia |
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 Waiting for the Ship |
 Human Chain - loading MV Glenconner |