As Jamaica braced for Hurricane Beryl to make landfall as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday, preparations were underway on the nearby Cayman Islands, where the storm was expected to move through Wednesday night.
Officials opened more than a dozen shelters and urged residents to secure outdoor furniture and garbage containers. Residents and tourists began evacuating from Owen Roberts International Airport in the capital, George Town, and local rotary clubs distributed sandbags. The Cayman Islands Humane Society appealed to the public, saying it had 50 dogs and cats in need of temporary homes in anticipation of the storm.
Premier Julianna O’Connor-Connolly, appearing on Radio Cayman on Wednesday morning, strongly urged residents to stay in place beginning at 6 p.m. until an all-clear was issued.
“Please walk around your neighborhood and be genuine and extend a neighborly hand,” she said. “This island was built on love. This is our chance and our opportunity to show the world.”
Governor Jane Owen said Britain was standing by to provide support to the British territory, including emergency response teams stationed in Miami who were prepared to travel if needed.
Tracey Rose, 60, who experienced Hurricane Ivan in 2004, was no stranger to preparing for big storms. Ms. Rose owns Cayman Riding School in Savannah on Grand Cayman and was working to ensure the safety of her animals — 36 horses, goats, donkeys and other livestock.
But that came with the difficult decision of letting her horses run loose. Ms. Rose said she anticipated the storm would blow off the stable roofs and setting them free would give them a better chance of survival.
Her animals were not her only concern. Many of Ms. Rose’s staff members are from Jamaica and were worried about family back home.
“I have to stay strong and remain positive for everyone around me, although inside my stomach is churning,” she said.
Maddy Harrop, 27, originally from Manchester, England, and now living in Camana Bay on Grand Cayman, was experiencing her first ever hurricane and was offering shelter to those whose homes might be vulnerable to damage or floods. She was checking on her supply of batteries and filling up buckets of water on Wednesday.
“The community here is incredibly resilient and supportive, which has been comforting during such a challenging time,” she said. “It’s a stark reminder of nature’s power and the importance of preparedness and community solidarity.”
Shuvra Deb, 42, a U.K.-born Indian motivational speaker and attorney who has lived in the Cayman Islands for the past four and a half years, said the leadup to Hurricane Beryl reminded her of her experience with Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands in 2017.
“I have that same sense of foreboding that I had before Irma in the BVI,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect, whereas now, I know exactly how bad it could be. I have a tightness and nausea sensation in my stomach and throat but am continuing with my final preparations.”
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