Residents in Anguilla were stunned to see various parts of the island’s shoreline pommelled by enormous surf swells several days ago, flooding beaches, nearby roads and some properties, leaving behind clusters of unsightly seaweed.
The most affected areas included Island Harbour, Shoal Bay and Road Bay (where some boats came ashore) and Meads Bay. More boats would have been thrown onto the shoreline hadn’t their owners moved quickly to secure them at the outset of the usual sea conditions. Ferryboat operations between Anguilla and St. Martin were temporarily suspended as a result of the high and dangerous ground sea waves.
Anguillian seamen, known for their knowledge of sea currents and swells, during the month of March, marvelled that they had never seen such a phenomenon – perhaps appropriately referred to as “swellmageddon”.
The battering waves reportedly originated from a gigantic low pressure system, nicknamed “windmageddon”, which caused widespread damage and power outages across the North Eastern United States.
Anguilla was among a number of regional islands, mainly in the North Eastern Caribbean, affected by the stormy seas.
The raging sea conditions gave rise to rumours, on social media, about an impending tsunami particularly in the wake of a 7.9 earthquake in Costa Rica. Those rumours were quickly discounted by Caribbean meteorological agencies.
