Hurricane Irma Las Terrenas Samana Dominican Republic
I am writing this after receiving many requests for an update on Hurricane Irma Las Terrenas Samana Dominican Republic and the damage it caused.
The town was expecting the worse and as of Monday people had started boarding up their homes and businesses and making preparations and stocking up on food and water.
We boarded up our office and sealed all boards against the anticipated storm surge floods and flying debris we moved out all electrical items and locked up on Tuesday evening.
Our home which is 350 feet on a hill overlooking the ocean inside a beautiful ecological park with millions of trees.
The house is two storey with a multiple Spanish tiled roof areas along with a lot of glass windows and doors, we boarded up all of them and moved all items of outdoor furniture, plant pots inside.
We stocked up on water along with food for us and our 4 dogs we also purchased a 3.2 kw generator as we knew that the power would be down for a while.
Hurricane Irma Las Terrenas Samana Dominican Republic Wednesday and Thursday people were leaving Las Terrenas after the town received an evacuation order from the government, it was strange seeing people on the streets with suitcases.
We filled up our 4 large petrol cans so we had at least 10 days of power running the generator 12 hours a day.
The internet company removed the equipment from local towers so we had to rely on the mobile service we got through Claro the phone company, who maintained service throughout thank you for that as it was a life line to friends and family.
Prayers were answered and Irma looked as though at last it was going North, we saw what it did to those others in St Martin and other Islands and we feared for our town.
Thursday came and went with no real effects of Hurricane Irma Las Terrenas Samana Dominican Republic I slept through most of it to a awaken early, i expected to find all sorts of damage but all that there was were leaves and a little rain.
I checked the gardens for fallen trees and roof tiles and thankfully found none the front drive had some fallen branches and by the main entrance gates a large tree had been uprooted on our land.
It was a miracle and as i walked around our project all i could see were a few trees down and lots of leaves and twigs.
The power was off which in a country that puts its cables above ground is understandable, so we switched on the generator and had power to the fridge freezer, water pump and various sockets and lamps around the house.
We then realised that we were only half way through the Hurricane Irma Las Terrenas Samana Dominican Republic and prayed that it would be as kind, it was!
Helen and I ventured into town on Friday and realised that the lower areas had had more tree damage than the hills which surprised me.
The workmen were already clearing and cutting trees from the roads and apart from some areas of debris the roads were all easily passable.
We could not see any damage to buildings along the beach road into town until we came to the start of Punta Poppy beach area.
The beach bars had taken a hit places such as Mojitos and 4 others had suffered damage due to the beach being eroded to the road.
A sad loss as most have no beach or land to build back on left.
In town there were a few more places that had slight damage mainly from falling trees or branches but no flooding.
Las Ballenas beach road ended up looking like the beach covered in sand with debris all over it and the copy of the Christopher Columbus ship unfortunately sunk and then got smashed up in the surf.
Reports from other areas from friends were all telling the same story and thanking God for answering the prayers given.
The people here are very resilient they go about their lives as though nothing has happened they are very special people.
The town has great community spirit and I am sure over the weeks to come we will hear many stories about the unsung heroes who have helped many.
Once again as history dictates our town and community were saved from the perils of mother nature and Hurricane Irma Las Terrenas Samana Dominican Republic
A special thank you to Gregg Rich and Barry Naipaul for their photos
We only hope and pray that it looks after all those that are being affected in Florida and other parts of the USA.
About The Author
