It appeared all along, during the current Atlantic Hurricane Season, and particularly up to the September peak, that Anguilla would luckily escape the onslaught of the severe storms and hurricanes that over the years, have etched their fury on the minds of victims in the Eastern Caribbean island chain.
But that was not to be. On Monday, October 13, a Spanish-named hurricane, called Gonzalo, thought at first to be an insignificant weather system, pounded Anguilla with wind gusts of well over hurricane force, accompanied by outbreaks of drenching rain forcing leaks in every building. One young person remarked afterwards that the howling winds sounded to him like the wailing of some ferocious attacking creature, other than a hurricane, sending shivers up his spine.
In earlier years, a common rhyme went like this: June too soon; July stand by; August, it must; September, remember; October, all over. But, as the hurricane season intensified beyond that period over the years, weather forecasters and climatologists have had to extend the storm and hurricane alert period to November 30. Although storms and hurricanes have not often struck the Caribbean area in the month of October, a number of them have been recorded in various parts of Central America and the United States. Given the terrifying experience of Hurricane Lenny in Anguilla and other regional islands in November 1999, there is some well-founded apprehension as to what types and strengths of weather systems, generating mainly in the Western Caribbean Basin, will be unleashed next month.
We have all reason to be thankful, though largely caught off guard as the slow-moving storm, turned in a hurricane, set its crisscrossing course right over Anguilla. “It could have been worse”, many persons remarked. No one was reportedly injured, and no houses or other buildings were seriously damaged or destroyed. This of course does not include the Adrian T Hazell Primary School, which lost two portions of its roofing, adding to the disrepair and infestation which delayed its reopening in September.
It is with much relief to hear that our tourism plant is virtually intact except for water intrusions and damage to landscaping and, in some cases, perimeter fencing. Fortunately, also, there were not many reports of severe erosion of our pristine beaches which help to sell our island as a desirable tourist destination. In fact, there has been a welcome cleansing of a number of prime beaches, like Shoal Bay, which were littered by large masses of foreign and smelly seaweed. It would have been disastrous if our hotels, just emerging from temporary closure for the slow period and, in one case from a costly refurbishing, were to have suffered a major setback by the hurricane. It is a distinct pleasure and a relief to see several hundred of our people returning to their jobs in the hospitality industry, when considering both the difficult financial and economic times, and the hardships which could have resulted from further closure of hurricane hard-hit resorts, villas and restaurants.
The truth is that life at present is too hard in Anguilla. The economy is in shambles – a fact that even our Chief Minister seems to be the first to admit. There is mass unemployment on the island and therefore no power to earn, to meet the high cost of living and taxation; to pay for vital amenities and generally for most of our people to live comfortably. Though a resilient people, we are all struggling to survive and therefore unable to bear any new burdens. If Anguilla were to have suffered greatly from the Spanish hurricane, that would have been one burden too great and dismal.
We hope that there will be no further destructive storms or hurricanes in November to hit Anguilla – and indeed our Caribbean neighbours. We certainly can’t take any more pounding whether from hurricanes or fiscal and economic problems, given the current overall bad state of affairs in Anguilla. All that is left to say is a big thank you to ANGLEC for moving so quickly to restore electricity to various parts of the island in record time and the hope to have all areas back to normal. Thanks also to the emergency services and the broadcast media, mainly Radio Anguilla, which kept the island well informed about the hurricane – and the messages of caution and safety; and our health services for obviously being on alert to handle any necessary emergencies.
