AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Hurricane effects Sth End?

The only big one in my time here starting in 1978 was Keith. I was here in the early 80's when it blew in the 80+ range so that would be a hurricane though they called it something else.It damaged the mast of the wind gauge and blew you off your feet so it turned out that it wasn't safe to go out.Luckily I was dragged into Martinez bar by some drunken heroes.
Mitch was less but bigger waves driving tides ashore.

Actually Mike Silveria's house wasn't built when Keith hit. His foundation was partially complete. His land was washed away and he had to pay thousands of dollars to have it filled.
We live next door to Mike and we luckily had minimal damage. The hurricane created a cone shaped hole 15' in diameter and 8' deep between our lot and Mike's.
Mike had his pier in at that time and it didn't suffer any damage.

lots of wooden homes survived with no damage whatsoever in Keith. Build well, build strong, use hurricane straps, pay particular attention to the foundation and roof.

Technically we are all supposed to evacuate the Cayes during storm threats.

We get quite a few 65mph squalls. 80 - 100 mph winds when storms are severely impacting other areas is not unusual.

Mangroves and other vegetation definitely help prevent erosion.

The Boca Ciega area was hard hit and damaged in Keith - Club Caribbean realized very minimal damage to the land.

If you feel that you need a rifle in order to stay safely in your home this may not be the right place for you. Not too many bears or wolves around here.

I think it was Keith or Mitch that blew down my little house. It was a shack with a thatch roof and probably deserved to go down in a high wind, and the second house went down because it was not completely built, didn't have windows and door installed yet the wind got under and lifted the roof off.
Dean didn't do anything but a little landscaping adjustment, but by then with my third house I had installed the metal clips Amanda is referring to. They seem to really work well. I put the third house back about 120 feet from the beach and have lots of trees around me and the back is a huge mangrove lined lagoon with a little littoral forest buffer in the middle.
Ive paid a lot of attention to the erosion factor after seeing the way big damage happens with the hurricanes but true my two little wooden houses where victims of wind.

I think it was Keith when I had a nice new boat that I didn't want damaged so I took it to the boatyard for safety :-)

..... and ... the rest of the story elbert?

yep its a sad one.
The Boatyard was full of expensive boats people wanted to keep safe.
Normally the storms come from the front and the mangroves in the back are the safest place....but not that time.
The boatyard was so packed with boats I left mine at a friends house nearby.... after the storm boats where piled all over town on the airstrip and up against houses the boat yard was devastated.
My friends house where I left my boat was gone, and I mean gone. The only landmark we could find to determine where his house used to be was my anchor, that was still there in his yard...but no boat on the end of its rope.
I found it later up against this ladys house she came out mad and yelling at me about the damage my boat did to her house beating against it during the storm.

The only significant storm I've been here for was Dean, and I didn't evacuate when I discovered that evacuation wasn't mandatory and wouldn't be enforced by the BDF. Since I didn't want my house burgled I stayed in it. Many other people did the same thing for the same reason.

A friend just up the road had a wind gauge, and at the height of Dean it recorded 140mph. Presumably just a single gust.

Dean wasn't considered a hurricane for the island. We experienced tropical force winds. The biggest gust that was clocked to the best of my knowledge (and I know most of the weather stations in town) was 100 mph at that time.

After having lost 4 friends in Keith I can tell you that your stuff can be replaced, but your life cannot.

During evacuations the BDF send additional forces to the island to deter looting.

Ill-prepared persons that decide to stay to" ride out" the storm often become a burden on the few people that are left behind to manage the situation (NEMO, BDF, Police, Coast Guard, Doctors etc.)

Remember if we have a serious hit power can be out for weeks (my home was out for 8 weeks after Keith) stores will run out of groceries/supplies quickly, fuel will be rationed, there will be curfews, no alcohol will be available or served etc. It is safer to leave the island and then return (with food, water, medical supplies etc) once the all clear has been sounded.

I'd be very happy to evacuate so long as it is mandatory and enforced.