Track of Hurricane Georges

Hurricane Georges took about the worst track through the Caribbean possible. Hardest hit was the Dominican Repuplic, with Haiti following in a close second. Puerto Rico was third. Puerto Rico was fortunate in that the deaths caused by the hurricane thus far only amount to 14 by the latest report I heard. Don't be fooled by the width of the line representing the track of the hurricane. It represents the center of the eye of the storm. The eye itself was wider than Puerto Rico is, and every square foot of Puerto Rico was hit with the full strength of the hurricane, with the northern third receiving the strongest winds, (by some official reports, 140 MPH steady with gusts over 160 MPH,) and the southern two thirds receiving massive amounts of rain, (in some areas 24 inches

of rain during the storms passage. In some areas flood waters reached 10-14 feet deep.) Along the central mountain spine of the island, they registered winds of 174 MPH with gusts over 200 MPH, and got hit with torrential rains as well, causing flashfloods and mudslides.

With Hurricane Georges having hit the mainland U.S., (with relatively limited damage,) the Caribbean has been all but forgotten by the major news media, and therefore will soon be forgotten by the politicians in Washington. Aid is already slowing, and will soon halt. This island is devastated, and even worse off are the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We were hit far harder than either the Virgin Islands, Florida, or any of the Southern States, and yet they were the focus of all the attention. Please be patient while these pictures load, and you might get an idea of how Puerto Rico has been affected, and the help that is needed, not only here, but throughout the Caribbean, especially in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

10/11/98 My Neighborhood after Hurricane Georges

I went out at about 8 AM on August 22nd, (the morning after the storm,) and took these pictures around my neighborhood. I couldn't get more than 1/4 mile from my house because of downed trees, power poles, power lines, debris, etc. I had not thought to stock up on film during my preparations for the storm, so only got these few pictures of my immediate area. Being

right next to the coast, we didn't have a lot of debris coming in from other areas, and so the streets are relatively clean. The winds still caused extensive damage to my little neighborhood, but all in all, we fared better than most areas in Puerto Rico, (primarily due to the houses being built mainly of concrete as well as people being well prepared for the storm, plus a good deal of luck.) We were only four days without water, and twelve without electricity, (KUDOS to the AUTORIDAD ENERGIA ELECTRICA and the AUTORIDAD DE ACUADUCTOS!,) although power is still going off every so often. We were lucky in that we never lost phone service, as did some other parts of Puerto Rico.

The Aftermath of Georges in Puerto Rico

These pictures were taken off the net, (some by me, quite a few by a friend who was keeping track of the hurricane while I was without power, Thanks, Gloria!,) and show just some of the damage cause by Georges here in Puerto Rico. The hurricane was pounding our island for about 15 hours, and according to the governer's office, about 31% of the homes hit by the eye of the storm were totally destroyed. The damage has risen above the two billion dollar mark, (which amounts to over $37,000 of damage per second that the storm was here,) and could rise as high as ten billion in damages, (taking that number to over $185,000 per second.) Many areas of Puerto Rico will be

without power, water, and phone service for as long as two months. Throughout the Caribbean, the death toll has risen above 430, (and could rise to more than 1,000 killed directly due to the Hurricane,) primarily in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, (two of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere,) and more than 135,000 have been left homeless due to the storm here in the islands. In the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the threat of epidemic is now looming because of the overcrowding in the relief shelters as well as the extensive damage to these nations infrastructures, so it isn't over yet for those poor people...

10/11/98 If you want to help the victims of Hurricane Georges, click HERE Back to HOME PAGE Go to WEBSITE MAP

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