To get WIPED OUT!
Click on either picture for an animation from that perspective
The animations give the impression that the storm is traveling at a
pretty fast clip.
Grand Cayman has been hit by "storm surge" --- 30 ft. waves, which have destroyed the Cracked Conch restaurant, a diver's shop, seven of her first floor condos at Treasure Island, and in South Sound a woman was swept out of her house into the street where she was struck by a car.
The devastation is unimaginable. At the Turtle Farm, 300 lbs. turtle were swept over the 6 ft. walls onto the main road, where (luckily) the employees were able to catch all of them. Traffic has remained closed --- several parts of West Bay Road are gone. Washed away.
One body has been swept ashore, (don't know if the person died prior to the storm or is a fatality of the storm).
No wind, but I could hear the surf pounding in the background.
000 WTNT35 KNHC 050547 TCPAT5 BULLETIN HURRICANE MICHELLE INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 26A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 1 AM EST MON NOV 05 2001 ...MICHELLE MOVING OFF THE NORTH COAST OF CUBA...NOW HEADING TOWARD THE BAHAMAS... AT 1 AM EST...0600Z...THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA SOUTH OF BONITA BEACH HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED. AT 1 AM EST...0600Z...THE HURRICANE WARNING FOR ALL OF THE FLORIDA KEYS FROM OCEAN REEF WESTWARD TO THE DRY TORTUGAS...INCLUDING FLORIDA BAY HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A TROPICAL STORM WARNING. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA FROM JUPITER INLET SOUTHWARD TO OCEAN REEF....AND ALSO FOR ALL OF THE FLORIDA KEYS...INCLUDING FLORIDA BAY AND THE DRY TORTUGAS. A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN CUBA FOR THE PROVINCES FROM PINAR DEL RIO EASTWARD TO CIEGO DE AVILA... INCLUDING THE ISLE OF YOUTH. THESE WARNINGS WILL LIKELY BE DISCONTINUED LATER TODAY. A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHWESTERN AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS. THIS INCLUDES GRAND BAHAMA...THE ABACOS...THE BERRY ISLANDS... BIMINI...ANDROS...NEW PROVIDENCE...ELEUTHERA...CAT ISLAND...EXUMAS...SAN SALVADOR...RUM CAY AND LONG ISLAND. A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR BERMUDA. AT 1 AM EST...0600Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE MICHELLE WAS LOCATED OVER NORTH CENTRAL CUBA NEAR LATITUDE 23.1 NORTH... LONGITUDE 80.3 WEST OR ABOUT 190 MILES...300 KM...SOUTH OF MIAMI OR 225 MILES...360 KM...SOUTHWEST OF NASSAU. MICHELLE IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 13 MPH ...20 KM/HR... AND A GRADUAL INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THE CENTER OF THE HURRICANE IS ALONG THE NORTH CENTRAL COAST OF CUBA AND WILL EMERGE OVER THE FLORIDA STRAITS SHORTLY. MICHELLE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE BAHAMAS LATER TODAY...POSSIBLY REACHING ANDROS ISLAND BY EARLY AFTERNOON. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 105 MPH...170 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 50 MILES... 85 KM... FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 175 MILES...280 KM. RAIN BANDS WITH TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE SPREADING OVER PORTIONS OF THE FLORIDA KEYS AND THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF FLORIDA THIS MORNING. DURING THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS... MIAMI BEACH HAS REPORTED SUSTAINED WINDS OF 38 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. WINDS GUSTS TO 40 MPH HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED AT MARATHON. ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 965 MB...28.50 INCHES. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES...LOCALLY HIGHER...ARE LIKELY ALONG THE PATH OF MICHELLE. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES...LOCALLY HIGHER...ARE LIKELY OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 4 TO 5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...ALONG WITH LARGE BATTERING WAVES...IS EXPECTED ALONG THE NORTH COAST OF CUBA TO THE WEST OF THE CENTER. A STORM SURGE OF 1 TO 3 FEET ABOVE NORMAL...ALONG WITH BATTERING WAVES...IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE ATLANTIC COAST OF FLORIDA IN THE WARNING AREA. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 5 TO 8 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...ALONG WITH LARGE BATTERING WAVES...IS LIKELY OVER THE BAHAMAS ISLANDS NEAR AND TO THE RIGHT OF THE CENTER. REPEATING THE 1 AM EST POSITION...23.1 N... 80.3 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHEAST NEAR 13 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...105 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 965 MB. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 4 AM EST. FORECASTER STEWART
On his way back to the capital, Castro stopped in the town of Cardenas, which was hit hard by Michelle, to see Elian Gonzalez, the shipwreck survivor at the heart of a fierce custody battle between Cuba's government and anti-Castro Miami.
Well at least Reuters is now showing the honesty to at least admit that this was not about the custody issue of the father. It does neglect to mention that the other party was not "Anti-Castro" Miami but "pro-capitalism" relatives of the boy.
