Hurricane Irma

Best wishes to all in her path...

One great piece of news..Jim Kelly managed to round up our beloved cat " Farkle" and get her safely to his place. Houses can be rebuilt but all life is precious..even a little cat full of character and love..

Hmmmmm... careful Mal... you're starting to sound more like me
That can't be good

Just spoke to Jim..everyone seems to be as ready as they can with no one quite sure just how bad it will be or what to expect. Hoping to stay in touch with him if we can and will report here what I hear..

Good news for you, and hopefully the news will be not so bad in future as we all are dreading.

That's great news Malcom! Belinda and I have been housebound with our little dog after she had gallbladder surgery. They are indeed precious. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

OK, while we're at it then, here's a thought for the lemurs on Necker and for the iguanas at that research facility on Anegada.

Latest projection has the center of the eye even further south. Now less than 2 miles north of Beef Island. The eye is 50 miles wide. That means the eye wall will cover 100% of the BVI land mass, a forecast surge of 10 to 12 feet with 15 foot waves on top. At this point I am afraid we are looking at a catastrophy in the making. It looks like the North Shore is going to be wiped out. I doubt we will recognize Cane Garden or Carrot Bay come Thursday.

Hi GlennA

Can you please share a link to that information?

Thanks!

Looks like St. Maarten will also be getting a direct hit before the BVI <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

Sort of a combination of sources. I have apps that download the latest GRIB files every 6 hours and follow the EURO models. Also the Weather Channel has some good data mixed with the basics. The spaghetti models don't really show the detail that GRIB forecast do but StormCarib has a neat ap that uses the latest GRIBs to calculate the closes point of approach to any point. You can enter an island (uses airport as locus) or enter a lat/lon and it returns the closest point of approach, distance, time and lat/lon. I plot that on Google Earth and it is easy to see the path shifting south. Right now if you pick the lat/lon of South Sound it says Thorsten's house is toast.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/
Zoom to BVI

I've shared this site before - free access with a linked in account (which is also free). Really good interactive site.

www.stormpulse.com

Glenn
If I wind up with a villa with a wood roof, some siding and no structural failure. I will rebuild. I suspect all the windows will fail as the pressure will cause the window frames to fail. It makes me very sad to see the villa beat up, but that is life.

Oh, very much so. SXM is going to get slammed.. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

Thinking of all of you on island and with a stake on land. Praying for good outcomes.

Post deleted by Carol Hill

That video is not Irma..

Check out the live stream from Pusser's Road Town Pub:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gdiv8tVt2k

This is old footage and not from Irma. Shame people have that much time on their hands to simply F with people. I hate the web sometimes.

Airport forecast for SXM calling for winds from 300 at 140 knots gusting to 160 at 3AM EST. Multiply by 1.16 for MPH. Let's keep hoping for a turn N!

According to the Weather Channel in the U.S. for SXM on Wednesday morning:

Wind: 120+ m.p.h Gusts
Rain: 12 to 18 inches
Storm Surge up to 11 feet

Again, I think the Weather Channel is wrong, as the eye is going directly over the island and the sustained winds are much higher than 120 mph..

Cane Garden bay webcam. Looks like wind is picking up.

http://www.resortcams.com/webcams/cane-garden-bay/

Soggy cam

http://www.soggydollar.com/webcam

4:25 Am on the north shore of St Thomas. Deb and I are going to a friends house with a concrete roof at 5:00 am to beat the curfew. Right now it is just blowing in the 20's and gust with light rain. Stay safe everyone. WAPA has a scheduled shut down around two today to protect the generators. They plan to leave the underground feeders to the Hospital and VITEMA on.

This is so painful to watch! Yet I can't stop.

Glad Farkle is safe Mal!

Good move Jay, keep the info flowing when you can. Stay safe.

Is SDB cam really live? Asking because CGB cam looks like night time and SBD daytime.. and picnic table still in the sand? No wind? Time stamp looks real though. I don't see a time stamp on CGB. I don't check these often so wasn't sure.

Seems live to me. Just watched the sun rise and wind is up. Place deserted.

Soggy is live, CGB camera seems to be in a loop from earlier

Thank you... seeing the sun was comforting .. though I know that will change soon

Stay safe Jay!

The lack of news out of St Martin is disturbing. I do see that the STT airport is expecting a max wind of 110 knots which is a bit of good news however the storm will have a greater miss distance compared to Tortola. Hope to start hearing more about St Martin. News does not even mention it.

It's starting to crank up at soggy. Wow what a difference a little time makes

This does not look good.
hope, not all will be destroyed

Three Pusser's and CGB webcams were all live last night. Now down / dark. Cruz Bay ferry dock froze with time stamp at 7:22 am this morning. Lots of boats still in bay.

Seeing some videos/pics from St Maarten and St Barth emerge on Twitter now (these are verified sources). As in any live event, Twitter tends to be the best source of information...

This one seems to be of St Maarten Harbour. Heartbreaking to watch:
https://twitter.com/RCI_GP/status/905381154970329088

Weather channel had a few pics from St Martin waterfront..looked like total devastation of docks and boats and some flooded cars on road between building and the marina.

This is a video from St Martin. The roar of the wind is frightening. Check at about the 8min mark, can see some damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUzmRxRRnHM

My heart goes out to my cousin on St Croix and to Nick and everyone at Leveritt Bay (heck, the whole Caribbean). Stay safe.

Looks like Soggy Cam went down at 0853?

This is what happened in St. Barths and is heading for the BVI's. Scroll down for the pictures:
https://www.facebook.com/Mycaraibes1/?hc...fwUxmaoA0MRH5rc

Very limited news out of St. Martin but one is the 4 strongest government buildings were destroyed. I hope those buildings were not being used for shelters.
Hopefully the topography of Tortola and surrounding Islands protect the BVI well.

Prayers for the safety of those that stayed on Anegada!

I'm thinking of all of you there on island, and those of you with property there. I'm praying the BVI won't be utterly destroyed. Geez, Irma is huge.

Peak winds expected on Virgin Gorda around noon. Storm is moving very fast which is great as it will do the least damage.

The eye wall is 17 miles from Virgin Gorda, looks like it will pass over the top in just over a hour.

If there are any cavalier holdouts left in the BVI, I'd recommend hunkering down, NOW.

Just when you think it couldn't get any worse, the forecast track is now straight over Road Town.

I'm concerned that the same Tortola topography will be subject to heavy mudslides and tremendous property damage...

Thinking of everyone at this time...

Kelly checked in via WhatsApp from Anegada. Hes Holed up in the 2.5 Story concrete Fire Station building w two others. Says its "the highest spot on the Island". Wishing you the best man.

Posts from Storm Carib say that St John lost power around 10a local, Estimated gusts at 125mph. St Thomas is reporting Frenchtown as 'a mess' and noise of cracking trees and sheet metal flying. No updates from BVIs or SXM within the last hour.

I hope Kelly and the rest on Anegada pull through okay....

Here's a wind and pressure plot from the NOAA buoy just south of St John...

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?s...;time_label=AST

You Tube video from Road Town area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvBGObN1Szk&feature=youtu.be&a=

Still in communication with Cheryl...."still here. it has started rumbling now,like a train"

According to radar, Virgin Gorda entered the eye of Irma around 12:15 PM. Tortola is now in the destructive eyewall and will start entering the eye shortly. The eye may just miss St Thomas, but they will still be subject to the eyewall destruction. Prayers for all!

The eye is large. All of Virgin Gorda is in the eye at the moment.
G

My thoughts and prayers are with all.

In the video, Looks like the dock right next to Conch Charters, which should appear when he pans right?

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in BVI.

Yes the video is taken from a balcony right above The Pub. You can see Maria's By The Sea and the cruise ship docks when he moves the lens left. The good news for people who have boats stored at Nanny Cay (on the hard) like myself is that the winds will push surge out from marinas on Tortola's south shore for the first half of the storm however the winds will push surge into those same marinas for the last half as it passes. Hopefully the surge won;t lift boats off their storage cradles and cause massive damage since they are packed pretty tight.

Here is a link to live streaming videos from the BVI on youtube. Hard to watch some of these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXcyJ6OpjGg

On the TV in the breakroom, the weather person has a graphic showing the entire island of Tortola in the eye.

Photo of Paraquita Bay

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...e=3&theater

It actually encourages me a little that that tin shed hasnt blown apart yet!

That is a terrible photo. Looks like all that preparation in Paraquita was all in vain. If I still had my boat in charter, it would be right in the middle of that pile up. So sorry for anyone who had a boat there and of course for all people on the islands.

Ehhh,,, Well this is a direct-hit, bare-pole in 150mph is still a lot of force?

I guess the prep-effort would be too high, but would it of been better if they were all de-masted first?

Yes Mike, it's sickening. Today I fear for how many people are going to be lost or left without anything. There were many homeless after the floods when we were down in August. Totally incomprehensible.

Seeing Virgin Gorda and Tortola going thru the exact center of this thing on the weather channel was surreal. What are the odds you make the 20 mile wide eye with your living space on one island and your boat on another..with both?

Tomorrow I will start worrying about marine and property insurance..from st martin to Florida and beyond this is gong to be a huge drain on property and marine carriers.

Images are now coming out of Carrot Bay, on Twitter. Glenn was right, it has taken a very hard hit.

And Jose will be close behind. Just so cruel...
At the very least that will hamper recovery efforts...

Jose looks like it may get pushed North, but might bring rain and lighter winds.. all though Irma wasn't predicted to be so strong and ramped up quickly..

Certainly not what everyone wants to worry about!

I have been following the storm all day with great sadness.

here is a link to moorings base. Hard to believe we were just there in June... total devastation...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...e=3&theater

Astonishing damage...so sad....

I'm really surprised at the upside down cats, but them my scientist comes out and applies Bernoulli's principle, They must have "flown and flipped", unbelievable. so sad.

Now we have to evacuate our in-laws from Florida...IRMA GET THE F OUT!

SusanC any chance of a link to those pics of Carrot Bay? Worried about family there. Thanks.

Sending love and prayers to long ago though not forgotten friends in Virgin Gorda. I hope for your safety.

Sending prayers to those that stayed on Anegada.

Yes, wondering how things are up at Anegada.

Sorry, just seeing your post.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJD5uN7XkAABTXC.jpg:large

Lorriane Briggs has some videos from Tortola...not good.

https://twitter.com/briggsoto

Also, there is a twitter feed of a broadcast from the Barbuda PM "It is totally destroyed. 90% at least"

https://twitter.com/ldobsonhughes?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

I will feel much better when I know my cousins in St Croix, and my hosts in VG and St John are safe. Sending positive vibes to all that are affected.

Well, your prediction last night was exactly right!

This was just posted on Facebook...Roadtown, VG

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...p;set=p.10159424434935422&type=3

From a very long string within that site, There is a guy who is on VHF radio and spoke to Nick at Leverick Bay...he and his wife are safe.

Exchanged texts with my cousin...St Croix was not hit nearly as hard. They sustained little damage (in case BVI folks want updates on STX).

That shot of the Moorings base was from before the back wall hit from the south. It drove the surge directly into the docks. Most of the docks are gone. Many cats turned turtle, others sunk. I my guess is 50-60% of the fleet sunkor disabled. That on top of close to 90% loss of all boats sheltered in Paraquita Bay.

Do you think the docks are gone glenn or just under water? At first when I looked at the pictures I thought gone, but then when you look at the water height, I figured maybe under water since they aren't floating docks?

The pic of Moorings / Sunsail area - the docks are underwater. Look carefully, the foreground of the pic, the building has feet of water around it. The pilings, where docks are, are just barely out of the water. Breakwater and cruise ship area - at top, and top right of pic - are nearly covered by water. Storm surge and then some.

Lots of pics & video from around the island... just found it a minute ago & have only seen some of it; looks very bad.

https://bvinewbie.com/bvi-live-cams/

Now it's clearly evident why there is no contact coming out of CGB

BVI Newbie doing a great job. Thanks for sharing that resource.

Just saw this on BVI Newbie.

Picture of CGB

Picture of CGB

This video is heart wrenching to watch and shows more of the extent of the damage.

https://www.facebook.com/100019238850526/videos/124541244863837/

Unconfirmed reports of fatalities on Tortola. Bunch of pictures here that were new to me as well. http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?articleId=27848

Post deleted by MarkMN

White Bay Villas is reporting that One Love, Soggy, Corsairs and as we all know Ivan's are all gone. No word on Hendo's. Customs heavily damaged and docks are gone.

Mast literally blown out of the boats. The Cats lifted like a tin roof and blown off into the wind.

https://twitter.com/AggieIslander/status/905844740284960768

All that space between the hulls must be what has caused the cats to get lifted..

I'll be surprised if any wood structures are left standing given the reports so far. Hopefully there's no loss of life or more realistically it is minimal.

What happens to the boats that are "totaled" by the insurance adjusters? Could an 800k boat be sold for 10k to someone that wants a project? If they are scrapped, surely there is no where in the islands to dump them. I would imagine they will be stripped of any good parts. Bet there will be some major trash fires burning for a while, anything burnable.

Anyone have any word or pictures from Paraquita bay? There is just the one picture so far.

First pictures from Nanny Cay, that I have seen. Not good.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1922822811318744/permalink/1932386350362390/

Even in a US mainland storm the stripping starts within hours. There is already public looting on Tortola.

The insurance companies will usually take the title in a total. Then hand the hull over to liquidator or salvor/scrap entity to escape the liability.

Many of those boats will end up in a hopper barge loaded with crane and dumped at sea when they think no one is looking.

http://www.yachtauctions.com/inventory/

I just heard another report from someone on Tortola that there are multiple fatalities, but no one knows how many. Communications are obviously still very difficult. This was direct communication through family/friends, not from a Facebook post. Again, still unconfirmed by official sources and don't know how they came by this information, but that's the first info we've gotten directly from the island. One family is ok, we're still waiting to hear from another friend.

General overview on BVIs...From the following Facebook page link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1922822811318744/permalink/1926537344280624/


Update as of 3 pm today Thursday Sept 7: Little or no cell, power or wifi coverage in VG, but some calls are getting through. East End of Tortola without power. FLOW, LIME, CCT, and Digicel partially up on Tortola. AT&T is allowing free calls to the islands. Road Town is flooded with many roofs ripped off. Moorings looks bad from pics I've seen, and Paraquita Bay is really bad. Village Cay is pretty bad, too. Even Scotia Bank and Pusser's in RT are destroyed. The police station is destroyed and the fire station is badly damaged. Branson is ok on Necker, but lots of damage to the island. Ivan's on JVD is destroyed, as are adjacent buildings, it appears. Trellis Bay is damaged but people are safe. Sugar Mill beach bar is gone, and the hotel roof is off, but thankfully, staff are safe. Tamarind Club people are safe at Josiah's Bay. Half of Maria by the Sea is destroyed. Sea Cows Bay hit hard, with most of the homes in rubbles. VG has no power, wifi, or cell, but Oil Nut Bay has a bunker of people that are safe, but have heard nothing from them since 10 am this morning. Reports that there have been no loss of life on VG, but Island is a wreck. All telephone poles are down. Fisher's Cove lost the roof. Tree House and Dockside is destroyed. There is a FB check-in for those who can access it. Peter Island peeps are ok, but island is wrecked. Were trying to evacuate a few people off the island this morning. All at Scrub Island are safe. Ivan's at JVD is destroyed, as it appears all adjacent buildings. Cane Garden Bay is 80% destroyed- all of the bars and the fuel station. Roads are bad but an excavator is working now. Everyone evacuated to the police station during the Eye. Roof is off of Myett's and Quito's is gone. Carrot Bay is flooded and the roads are destroyed and not passable. Many graves have come out of the ground and some are open. There was a house fire. No reports of any deaths in Carrot Bay. Cappoons and Little Apple roads are impassable. Nanny Cay hotel and condos are intact and roof is on, but there is flooding. Nanny Cay has boats piled atop each other and the sail loft building is destroyed. Leverick Bay dock in VG is gone. Eustacia peeps ok but Island is a wreck. Frenchman's Bridge is now gone. Soper's Hole docks are badly damaged. Harbor Market is damaged and was looted. West End was badly hit, and very few reports from Long Bay- a few staff stayed and are ok. Reports are that most of the hotel is damaged. Homes in Belmont seem mostly ok, and homes with generators have lights on. Home near Smuggler's is reported ok, but no mention of the Cove condition. Sandy Spit is gone. Navy ship, RFA Mount's Bay is reported to be diverted to St. Maarten area prior to BVI. Most of Anaegada was evacuated before the storm, and the ones that stayed are ok but requesting assistance. Most of the homes were destroyed. Cooper staff on island are all safe, quite a lot of damage but buildings still standing. Please note that Hurricane Jose is a category 3 storm and is expected on Saturday.

Some pictures of moorings base (I think) and rd town docks...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...eater&ifg=1 <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sad.gif" alt="" />

Although we haven't been to the BVI in quite a few years now, the condition of the people and places we loved is so very heartbreaking. There are no words for how awful we feel for everyone concerned.

We have heard from Dennis at The Sugar Mill..The beach bar is pretty damaged and the back wall, kitchen and bar are gone. The hotel lost a couple of roofs but looks reasonable in the pix he sent..which I'd like him to post here. The Mill seems to have survived better than many..

Hello My Friends,

All of you and your families and friends have been in our constant prayers. We will continue to pray in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Know how much you all are loved. This is a day I prayed I would never see. God Bless all of the BVI and all of you. Thank you for your updates.
Much Love, QueenFifi

Just read a post via "BVI-Abroad Hurricaine Irma" that states that helicopter landed on Anegada and confirms that residents that stayed okay but looking to be evacuated.