News - TURKS & CAICOS

A director of the company where I work sent an email to all employees to comunicate what happened Grand Turks.

To expand on this a little, our first concern was that there were no casualties on Grand Turk so, from that stand point, they are OK. The island, however, is devastated and many of our employees have lost everything. We are sending a humanitarian shipment from Dominican Republic tomorrow to help them through the next week to 10 days. Soon we will also be putting together a drive internally to support the families. Our shop did experience minimal damage but 75% of the other shops at the Port are destroyed. In addition, all basic infrastructure (power, water, communications) is gone. Travel around the island is impossible under present conditions - flooding, downed power lines, etc. Expectations to re-open our shop are, optimistically, three to four months.

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Also I received this email today from the folk company where I work.

Grand Turk Photos From: jeff at express.tc Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2008 22:19:07 -0400

I am now back on the ground on Provo and can provide a first hand update tomorrow. I am very grateful that my home appears to be entirely intact and I came back to power and water service, cable TV and High Speed Internet. I can't explain the elation of having a home to come back to after such a traumatic departure, nor can I explain the depth of sorrow I feel for those who were hit hard on Grand Turk.Some photos (not mine) of the devastation on Grand Turk can be seen here http://www.myalbum.com/Album-IQNH3LUA-Photos-of%20-News.html

A friend of ours that we spoke to once we were back, who was on Grand Turk today put it best, and I would urge everyone out there in the hurricane zone to heed her words:"After seeing Grand Turk after Ike, I will never again question whether I should be leaving when a hurricane is approaching."As many of you who live in the Caribbean know, there is often some bravado associated with staying, and more than a little peer pressure on those who are leaving. As Ike has shown us, it is never wrong to move to safety, so that you can return to help those who are not fortunate enough to have that option.

Jeff