The news from St. Marten is not good this morning. Last night's rain caused serious flash floods with considerable damage and so far one death has been reported unfortunately. A young woman;s car was being swept away. She panicked, jumped out of the car, and was drowned.
Sad news...
You can read my report and see some pictures here:
http://stormcarib.com/reports/2005/stmartin.shtml
Flash Floods in St. Maarten..two deaths!
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Flash Floods in St. Maarten..two deaths!
Last edited by msbee on Tue Aug 02, 2005 7:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
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cycloneye
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Oh boy Barbara I never thought that it was going to turn that bad there.The tail of 92L then was worse than the system itself moving thru.My thoughts are for the family of the victim and hopefully no more victims are reported.
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Astro_man92
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HurricaneQueen
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Wow, Barb! Amazing pictures. I'll be anxious to see the reports in the Herald tomorrow. I hope the rumors of three people missing are just that. Here's proof that people often underestimate the effects of (just) waves in the Islands. Hopefully, your post will open some eyes. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
Stay safe, my friend, and thanks for the news,
Lynn
Stay safe, my friend, and thanks for the news,
Lynn
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GO FLORIDA GATORS
I just posted some more pictures sent to me by a friend.
amazing!
http://stormcarib.com/reports/2005/stmartin.shtml
amazing!
http://stormcarib.com/reports/2005/stmartin.shtml
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Too many hurricanes to remember
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southerngale
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Thanks everyone for your concern.
I just heard on the radio that a young East Indian man is missing. He was last seen getting off a bus on the L.B. Scott Road during the storm and that's where some of the flooding took place.
He hasn't been seen since.
the police are asking anyone with information to call.
I sure hope this is not a second death now.
how terrible!
I just heard on the radio that a young East Indian man is missing. He was last seen getting off a bus on the L.B. Scott Road during the storm and that's where some of the flooding took place.
He hasn't been seen since.
the police are asking anyone with information to call.
I sure hope this is not a second death now.
how terrible!
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Too many hurricanes to remember
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bvigal
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Just got home and read this terrible news! My heart goes out to the family, and to the community, as well. It looks like quite a bit of clean-up and damaged property. Hope those missing will be located in a tree or at a friend's house.
Flash floods are killers. It takes only 6" of fast-moving water (with debris) to knock a person down, 24" to float a car.
Flash floods are killers. It takes only 6" of fast-moving water (with debris) to knock a person down, 24" to float a car.
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Official Government Information Service statement released:
Roddy Heyliger <roddyheyliger at yahoo.com> wrote:
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 13:34:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Roddy Heyliger <roddyheyliger at yahoo.com>
Subject: SxmGIS - Revised Governor's Statement: One Dead, One Missing; Governor Calls for Monday Morning Press Conference
To: Daily Herald <dherald at sintmaarten.net>,
Daily Herald <editorial at thedailyherald.com>
CC: Today Newspaper <editor at saintmartintoday.com>,
Today Newspaper <today at saintmartintoday.com>
St. Maarten Government Information Service (GIS) RSH/005/05
Statement Issued on Sunday, July 31, 2005
Revised as of 4.30PM, Sunday
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - A person of Indian origin, namely Amareal Sumit Acharya, has been reported missing to the Police authorities after the cloud burst of late afternoon Saturday in the Saunders area.
Governor Richards as Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has called for a press conference on Monday, August 1st at 10.30am at the Government Administration Building where he will give a complete report of what transpired late Saturday, July 30th.
Governor Franklyn E. Richards earlier on Sunday in a statement extended his deepest sympathy to the Maccou family who tragically lossed Ingrid Maccou late Saturday in the Saunders district area during flash flooding.
Governor Richards who returned from an official visit to Curacao Saturday evening, was given a tour of the island along with Commissioner responsible for Public Works Roy Marlin to get a first hand assessment of the situation after the heavy rains hours earlier from a passing Tropical Wave.
The preliminary assessment revealed that damage has taken place to the road infrastructure where flood waters lifted the asphalt off some of the road network. Government assessment teams are busy compiling damage reports with respect to the estimated costs for repairs.
Clean-up crews have been busy since last night (Saturday) with the removal of debris and this process will continue today, Sunday.
Commissioner Marlin pointed out that the storm drains worked, however a lot of debris among which household debris caused blockage problems. The drain near Ebenezer by the L.B. Scott Road where infrastructure work is being carried out was open to facilitate the flow of rain water from the surrounding hills.
Authorities started to pump water from the Salt Pond on Friday while this activity was started at 8.00pm on Saturday evening for the Fresh Water Pond. The objectives here are to lower the water levels in order for both bodies of water to be able to contain additional water should there be any more heavy rain showers thereby preventing flooding of surrounding residential districts.
Preliminary assessments of the school infrastructure so far reveals that the Ruby Labega Primary School suffered water damage to some of the classrooms. Additional surveys will continue on Sunday with respect to the other school buildings on the island.
The Meteorological Service of the Netherlands Antilles/Aruba section St. Maarten reported 22 millimeters of rainfall at the airport which is not representative of what had fallen in the hillside areas of St. Peters.
The office reports that this was a cloud burst from a Tropical Wave system and the cloud burst was not expected. As of Saturday a flash flood advisory was issued with effect until further notice. Some scattered shower activity is expected to continue throughout today, Sunday.
The public is requested to be patient as road crews are busy cleaning and clearing the road network especially in the St. Peters, Saunders areas.
Governor Franklyn E. Richards
Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
# # #
Roddy Heyliger
St. Maarten Government Information Service (GIS)
5529397, 5564217
Roddy Heyliger
Managing Director - MedPRO
Communications Consultant
Information Management & Application
Contact info:
Cell: 00 599 5529397, 5564217
Fax: 00 599 544-4174
Roddy Heyliger <roddyheyliger at yahoo.com> wrote:
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 13:34:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Roddy Heyliger <roddyheyliger at yahoo.com>
Subject: SxmGIS - Revised Governor's Statement: One Dead, One Missing; Governor Calls for Monday Morning Press Conference
To: Daily Herald <dherald at sintmaarten.net>,
Daily Herald <editorial at thedailyherald.com>
CC: Today Newspaper <editor at saintmartintoday.com>,
Today Newspaper <today at saintmartintoday.com>
St. Maarten Government Information Service (GIS) RSH/005/05
Statement Issued on Sunday, July 31, 2005
Revised as of 4.30PM, Sunday
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - A person of Indian origin, namely Amareal Sumit Acharya, has been reported missing to the Police authorities after the cloud burst of late afternoon Saturday in the Saunders area.
Governor Richards as Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has called for a press conference on Monday, August 1st at 10.30am at the Government Administration Building where he will give a complete report of what transpired late Saturday, July 30th.
Governor Franklyn E. Richards earlier on Sunday in a statement extended his deepest sympathy to the Maccou family who tragically lossed Ingrid Maccou late Saturday in the Saunders district area during flash flooding.
Governor Richards who returned from an official visit to Curacao Saturday evening, was given a tour of the island along with Commissioner responsible for Public Works Roy Marlin to get a first hand assessment of the situation after the heavy rains hours earlier from a passing Tropical Wave.
The preliminary assessment revealed that damage has taken place to the road infrastructure where flood waters lifted the asphalt off some of the road network. Government assessment teams are busy compiling damage reports with respect to the estimated costs for repairs.
Clean-up crews have been busy since last night (Saturday) with the removal of debris and this process will continue today, Sunday.
Commissioner Marlin pointed out that the storm drains worked, however a lot of debris among which household debris caused blockage problems. The drain near Ebenezer by the L.B. Scott Road where infrastructure work is being carried out was open to facilitate the flow of rain water from the surrounding hills.
Authorities started to pump water from the Salt Pond on Friday while this activity was started at 8.00pm on Saturday evening for the Fresh Water Pond. The objectives here are to lower the water levels in order for both bodies of water to be able to contain additional water should there be any more heavy rain showers thereby preventing flooding of surrounding residential districts.
Preliminary assessments of the school infrastructure so far reveals that the Ruby Labega Primary School suffered water damage to some of the classrooms. Additional surveys will continue on Sunday with respect to the other school buildings on the island.
The Meteorological Service of the Netherlands Antilles/Aruba section St. Maarten reported 22 millimeters of rainfall at the airport which is not representative of what had fallen in the hillside areas of St. Peters.
The office reports that this was a cloud burst from a Tropical Wave system and the cloud burst was not expected. As of Saturday a flash flood advisory was issued with effect until further notice. Some scattered shower activity is expected to continue throughout today, Sunday.
The public is requested to be patient as road crews are busy cleaning and clearing the road network especially in the St. Peters, Saunders areas.
Governor Franklyn E. Richards
Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
# # #
Roddy Heyliger
St. Maarten Government Information Service (GIS)
5529397, 5564217
Roddy Heyliger
Managing Director - MedPRO
Communications Consultant
Information Management & Application
Contact info:
Cell: 00 599 5529397, 5564217
Fax: 00 599 544-4174
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Too many hurricanes to remember
Sad news indeed. 
Five inches of rain in just over an hour is quite heavy! It's a reminder to all of us that it's not just high winds that are deadly. Most of us tend to focus on windspeeds when there's a hurricane around. A tropical depression or (as in this case) a wave can be serious as well.
Hope things get back to normal soon, Barbara.
Five inches of rain in just over an hour is quite heavy! It's a reminder to all of us that it's not just high winds that are deadly. Most of us tend to focus on windspeeds when there's a hurricane around. A tropical depression or (as in this case) a wave can be serious as well.
Hope things get back to normal soon, Barbara.
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msbee wrote:Official Government Information Service statement released:
Roddy Heyliger <roddyheyliger at yahoo.com> wrote:
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 13:34:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Roddy Heyliger <roddyheyliger at yahoo.com>
Subject: SxmGIS - Revised Governor's Statement: One Dead, One Missing; Governor Calls for Monday Morning Press Conference
To: Daily Herald <dherald at sintmaarten.net>,
Daily Herald <editorial at thedailyherald.com>
CC: Today Newspaper <editor at saintmartintoday.com>,
Today Newspaper <today at saintmartintoday.com>
St. Maarten Government Information Service (GIS) RSH/005/05
Statement Issued on Sunday, July 31, 2005
Revised as of 4.30PM, Sunday
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - A person of Indian origin, namely Amareal Sumit Acharya, has been reported missing to the Police authorities after the cloud burst of late afternoon Saturday in the Saunders area.
Governor Richards as Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has called for a press conference on Monday, August 1st at 10.30am at the Government Administration Building where he will give a complete report of what transpired late Saturday, July 30th.
Governor Franklyn E. Richards earlier on Sunday in a statement extended his deepest sympathy to the Maccou family who tragically lossed Ingrid Maccou late Saturday in the Saunders district area during flash flooding.
Governor Richards who returned from an official visit to Curacao Saturday evening, was given a tour of the island along with Commissioner responsible for Public Works Roy Marlin to get a first hand assessment of the situation after the heavy rains hours earlier from a passing Tropical Wave.
The preliminary assessment revealed that damage has taken place to the road infrastructure where flood waters lifted the asphalt off some of the road network. Government assessment teams are busy compiling damage reports with respect to the estimated costs for repairs.
Clean-up crews have been busy since last night (Saturday) with the removal of debris and this process will continue today, Sunday.
Commissioner Marlin pointed out that the storm drains worked, however a lot of debris among which household debris caused blockage problems. The drain near Ebenezer by the L.B. Scott Road where infrastructure work is being carried out was open to facilitate the flow of rain water from the surrounding hills.
Authorities started to pump water from the Salt Pond on Friday while this activity was started at 8.00pm on Saturday evening for the Fresh Water Pond. The objectives here are to lower the water levels in order for both bodies of water to be able to contain additional water should there be any more heavy rain showers thereby preventing flooding of surrounding residential districts.
Preliminary assessments of the school infrastructure so far reveals that the Ruby Labega Primary School suffered water damage to some of the classrooms. Additional surveys will continue on Sunday with respect to the other school buildings on the island.
The Meteorological Service of the Netherlands Antilles/Aruba section St. Maarten reported 22 millimeters of rainfall at the airport which is not representative of what had fallen in the hillside areas of St. Peters.
The office reports that this was a cloud burst from a Tropical Wave system and the cloud burst was not expected. As of Saturday a flash flood advisory was issued with effect until further notice. Some scattered shower activity is expected to continue throughout today, Sunday.
The public is requested to be patient as road crews are busy cleaning and clearing the road network especially in the St. Peters, Saunders areas.
Governor Franklyn E. Richards
Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
# # #
Roddy Heyliger
St. Maarten Government Information Service (GIS)
5529397, 5564217
Roddy Heyliger
Managing Director - MedPRO
Communications Consultant
Information Management & Application
Contact info:
Cell: 00 599 5529397, 5564217
Fax: 00 599 544-4174
Just got home from working all day and checked in to see how it went for you, msbee, last night (checked way early thirty but no news)...and found this report (I had it on paste but you had it here already). Just sitting here with tears...and I guess...wanting so much to let people know on the mainland how very different things are on our islands, and why we get so upset sometimes when we feel...unnoticed. We don't have vast numbers of people going missing or dying and when they do, through tragic circumstances such as this, it hurts badly and resounds throughout the Caribbean...we know it could have been us so very easily. And not infrequently during this season...is.
Strong hugs, and let us know if we can be of any help...now or later.
MJ
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This morning in the newspapers were pictures and news that the man missing..his body was found in the fresh water pond behind the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Zaegers Gut. The man was swept away in Saunders all the way through the gut to the fresh water pond. This is a distance of abotu a mile I think.
The papers are also full of stories from flood victims.
we are lucky there were not more fatalities I think.
There also is a comment from the meteorologist at the MET Office here, saying that a flash flood warning should have been issued after Friday's heavy rain because the tropical wave was still in the vicinity and the ground was saturated from Friday's rain.
He said that he is not responsible for warnings any longer. That responsibility has been taken away from him and the meteorolgists in Curacao are responsible for that.
In Curacao? how crazy is that???
They are 500 miles away from us!
The papers are also full of stories from flood victims.
we are lucky there were not more fatalities I think.
There also is a comment from the meteorologist at the MET Office here, saying that a flash flood warning should have been issued after Friday's heavy rain because the tropical wave was still in the vicinity and the ground was saturated from Friday's rain.
He said that he is not responsible for warnings any longer. That responsibility has been taken away from him and the meteorolgists in Curacao are responsible for that.
In Curacao? how crazy is that???
They are 500 miles away from us!
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Too many hurricanes to remember
I'm beginning to question the wisdom of booking a cruise to the Caribbean during hurricane season.....
I am going on a cruise in October to St Maarten and now I see they have suffered considerable damage from floods caused by a "mere" tropical wave.
When booking the cruise, hurricanes were certainly on my mind. I avoided a Western Caribbean itinerary for two reasons: 1) Hurricane Ivan last year caused severe damage to Grand Cayman and Jamaica. 2) Hurricanes tend to favor the Western Caribbean during the month of October. Climatology suggests that the Eastern Caribbean is a much "safer" location to cruise in October. I know, I know... 1999's Hurricane Lenny proves that it CAN happen...
Hurricane Emily's onslaught of the Cozumel area has reconfirmed my decision to tour the Eastern Caribbean. It seems as though most of the favored West Caribbean cruise stops have suffered some sort of hurricane damage in the past year.
Now just watch.....September will see some monster storm come along and deal St Thomas a nasty blow. It seems destined for me to spend my cruise walking among the debris from some hurricane!
Some reading this post may say that a year has passed and surely those islands affected by the storms of 2004 have recovered by now....
Well, I remember in 1990, I went on a cruise that stopped at St Thomas. 9 months earlier, Hurricane Hugo had slammed the island. The damage was still painfully evident. The tour I went on was supposed to take us to see St Thomas' most beautiful natural sights. Instead of appreciating the natural beauty that normally abounds in St Thomas, all the tourists on the bus gawked at the severe damage that still remained, from destroyed houses to downed trees everywhere.
In short, these small islands with their limited resources, take much longer to bounce back from the strike of a major hurricane.
--Lou
I am going on a cruise in October to St Maarten and now I see they have suffered considerable damage from floods caused by a "mere" tropical wave.
When booking the cruise, hurricanes were certainly on my mind. I avoided a Western Caribbean itinerary for two reasons: 1) Hurricane Ivan last year caused severe damage to Grand Cayman and Jamaica. 2) Hurricanes tend to favor the Western Caribbean during the month of October. Climatology suggests that the Eastern Caribbean is a much "safer" location to cruise in October. I know, I know... 1999's Hurricane Lenny proves that it CAN happen...
Hurricane Emily's onslaught of the Cozumel area has reconfirmed my decision to tour the Eastern Caribbean. It seems as though most of the favored West Caribbean cruise stops have suffered some sort of hurricane damage in the past year.
Now just watch.....September will see some monster storm come along and deal St Thomas a nasty blow. It seems destined for me to spend my cruise walking among the debris from some hurricane!
Some reading this post may say that a year has passed and surely those islands affected by the storms of 2004 have recovered by now....
Well, I remember in 1990, I went on a cruise that stopped at St Thomas. 9 months earlier, Hurricane Hugo had slammed the island. The damage was still painfully evident. The tour I went on was supposed to take us to see St Thomas' most beautiful natural sights. Instead of appreciating the natural beauty that normally abounds in St Thomas, all the tourists on the bus gawked at the severe damage that still remained, from destroyed houses to downed trees everywhere.
In short, these small islands with their limited resources, take much longer to bounce back from the strike of a major hurricane.
--Lou
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Lou
It was one residential section of the island that suffered all this damage... The rest of the island had minor flooding but it didn't affect the tourist area.
Are you taking your cruise late in October?
October is after the height of the hurricane season.
In 40 years I think we have had 2 or 3 storms in October and November.
so think positive!
It was one residential section of the island that suffered all this damage... The rest of the island had minor flooding but it didn't affect the tourist area.
Are you taking your cruise late in October?
October is after the height of the hurricane season.
In 40 years I think we have had 2 or 3 storms in October and November.
so think positive!
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Too many hurricanes to remember
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