Grenada, Caymans requesting much-needed relief aid

MIAMI -- While Hurricane Ivan bore down on the Alabama coast Wednesday night, and tropical storm Jeanne moved west toward the Dominican Republic, relief efforts mounted for Grand Cayman and Grenada, battered last weekend by Ivan.

The governments of both destinations issued urgent appeals for help, saying that rebuilding is not possible without outside assistance. (See boxes at right and below for a list of addresses and contacts for information on relief efforts on both islands.)

Pilar Bush, acting director of tourism for the Cayman Islands, said, We are resilient, but we need help -- everything from generators to building materials.

A Department of Tourism update reported no confirmed casualties or reports of missing persons. Retail banks are set to reopen on today, which will allow residents to access needed funds, although ATMs will not be operating until power is restored.

Emergency canteens now are open at shelters to provide meals; water trucks are stationed around the island; 150 generators are expected to arrive to provide power to parts of George Town on Grand Cayman, the airport and for emergency services.

The Owen Roberts Airport will be fully operational for daytime operations on Friday for relief assistance. Cayman Airways will operate four roundtrip relief flights a day between Miami and Grand Cayman through Sept. 26; Air Jamaica brought relief supplies in from Jamaica on Wednesday.

The Marriott Grand Cayman expects to reopen by the end of October. Bush said that resorts on Cayman Brac, including the Divi Tiara Beach Resort, and on Little Cayman are operational and will welcome visitors, once regular flights resume.

Meanwhile in Grenada, Ambassador Dennis Antoine said that Grenada was battered, shattered and the damage is almost impossible to comprehend. We need help to resuscitate and come back. Workers are trying to make the airport and seaport passable so that emergency relief can arrive by air and sea.

Immediate needs include restoration of power, delivery of food and water to remote areas, supplies for shelters and the creation of some sense of stability, Antoine said.

Grenada relies on tourism and agriculture. Both industries are gone now, but we will rebound, he said.

Blue Horizons Garden Resort, which earlier announced a four-to-six-month closure, now expects to reopen within four months. Resort officials reported this change after a further assessment of needed repairs.

We plan to open Blue Horizons within four months so we can house relief workers, engineers, construction workers and other individuals aiding Grenada as it rebuilds, said Arnold Hopkin, owner.

In related news, Brooklyn-based Apel International Travel will donate $5 to the Grenada and Jamaica Hurricane Disaster relief funds each time a ticket is sold to Grenada or Jamaica through Oct. 31.

We have to do our part to relieve some of the burden on our people in the Caribbean, said Patricia Lawrence-Haughton, president. The region has suffered tremendously this season. We must harness our corporate resources to pick up some of the slack.

Apel is the retail arm of Alken Tours, which specializes in the Caribbean, Africa and the U.S. For further information, visit www.travelapel.com.

To contact reporter Gay Nagle Myers, send e-mail to [email protected].