CAYMAN ISLANDS NATIONAL RECOVERY FUND
Press Release
1 October 2004
On 23 September 2004 the Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund was formally established. It has received significant contributions already including the sum of One Million dollars from the Bank of Butterfield International (Cayman) Ltd. This trust is chaired by His Excellency the Governor and has a board of trustees also comprising The Leader of Government Business, The Leader of the Opposition, The Honourable Speaker, The Financial Secretary, Mr Huw Moses, Mr Connor O'Dea, Pastor Winston Rose, and Mr Dan Scott. Mr Andrew Jones Q.C. has been appointed the "Enforcer" of the trust.
This fund is and will be, the only official fund accepting and distributing monies to private individuals in the Cayman Islands as part of the relief effort. The beneficiaries of the fund include any persons injured, bereaved, rendered homeless, destitute or otherwise adversely affected by the Hurricane in the Cayman Islands on or after 11 September 2004. The trust has already commenced making grants to assist in the restoration of roofs of the homes of low income persons. Application forms for a grant for this purpose can be obtained from locations such as police stations, gas stations, shelters and churches throughout Grand Cayman.
The fund will be audited and considerable checks are in place to ensure proper placement and use of donations. The trustees are concerned that there may be a temptation to some to take advantage of the situation for personal profit and accordingly, any official or authorised fund raising for the Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund will bear the crest of the Cayman Islands.
Any fundraising on behalf of the fund is most welcomed and ideas should be discussed with one of the trustees. Contributions, which should be tax deductible for United States Tax purposes, should be sent to any one of the clearing banks operating in the Cayman Islands. Separate accounts have been established in CI, US, and Canadian dollars, together with Pounds Sterling.

The table below sets out the relevant accounts established to date and which are ready to receive donations.
Bank US$ Account CI$ Account Canadian$ Account Pounds Sterling Account
Bank of Butterfield 01101-036345 02101-036345 03210-036345 04210-036345

Cayman National Bank 021-77-999 011-88-999 031-00097 041-00066

Fidelity Bank 01521-114052-00 05521-114052-00 04521-114052-00 03521-114052-00

First Caribbean International Bank
1003-2530 1003-2522 1003-2994 1003-3009

Royal Bank of Canada 262-581-2 112-896-6 725-077-2 710-044-9

Scotiabank 70007-66 70007-68 70007-67 70007-69

The trustees look forward to working with all the people of these Islands to a prompt and lasting recovery from the tragic events of Hurricane Ivan and thanks the public for its efforts and donations.
The Trustees of The Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund
Contact: Huw Moses Appleby Spurling Hunter 949-4900 hmoses@applebyglobal.com


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The Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund Established

Taken from the official update site for the Cayman Islands caymanislands.ky

September 2004

The Government of the Cayman Islands is in the process of establishing an independent trust to accept monetary donations for relief and reconstruction following Hurricane Ivan. The trust is known as “The Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund”. The Trust will benefit those who were injured, rendered homeless, destitute or otherwise adversely affected by the hurricane and their families and dependants and to further the social, educational, economic, religious and environmental recovery of the Islands.

A U.S. Dollar and a Cayman Islands Dollar current account will be established at each of the local clearing banks. The first of these accounts have been established with Cayman National Bank. The account numbers at Cayman National Bank are as follows:

US Dollar account #: 021 77 999
CI Dollar account #: 011 88 999

When the accounts have been established at the other local clearing banks, further announcements will be made giving the account numbers at those banks. Overseas donations can be routed via Citibank in New York, London and Toronto. For wire transfers, the following bank routing instructions should be specified:

In the United States of America:
through Citibank, N.A., 111 Wall Street, New York, ABA 021000089, for credit to Cayman National Bank Ltd, Account Number 36148883, for further credit to The Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund, Account Number 021 77 999;

In Canada: through Citibank 100 King Street West, Suite 3400, Toronto, SWIFT CITICATT, for credit to Cayman National Bank Ltd, Account Number 2014031002, for further credit to The Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund, Account Number 031 - 00097; and

In the United Kingdom: through Citibank, 335 Strand, London, SWIFT CITIGB2L, for credit to Cayman National Bank Ltd, Account Number 8924309, for further credit to The Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund, Account Number 041 - 00066.

The Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands, the Honourable George McCarthy, stated: “The Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund will be administered by a Board of Trustees pursuant to the Trusts Law of the Cayman Islands.” Mr. McCarthy continued that His Excellency the Governor of the Cayman Islands will chair the Board of Trustees. The other Trustees will be the Honourable Leader of Government Business; the Honourable Leader of the Opposition: the Honourable Speaker of the Legislative Assembly: the Honourable Financial Secretary, Mr. Huw Moses, Managing Partner of Appleby Spurling Hunter: Mr. Conor O’Dea, Managing Director of Bank of Butterfield International (Cayman) Ltd.; Mr Daniel Scott, Managing Partner of Ernst & Young; and Pastor Winston Rose.

Mr. McCarthy noted that the Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund is the only officially recognised account into which donations should be channelled, adding, “The Fund will be independently audited.” Mr. McCarthy continued: “We know that there are individuals, agencies and businesses that have set up accounts to assist the Cayman Islands at this difficult time. We are very grateful for these efforts and hope that they continue. The Government of the Cayman Islands and the Board Trustees of the Fund simply request that these funds be transferred to The Cayman Islands National Recovery Fund,” said Mr. McCarthy. “This will enable the Board of Trustees to know the full extent of donated funds available for the recovery effort.”

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Find what you need on the Cayman Islands at

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Atlantic Hurricanes Should Slow in Oct-Forecaster

Taken from the Rueters UK new service
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6392804&section=news

Atlantic Hurricanes Should Slow in Oct-ForecasterFri 1 October, 2004 19:32 By Jim Loney
MIAMI (Reuters) - A noted storm forecaster offered Floridians some good news on Friday as they mopped up from an unprecedented four hurricanes in six weeks by forecasting that the disastrous Atlantic hurricane season will go out with a whimper rather than a bang.

Following a period in which millions of people in the Caribbean and along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts were on hurricane alert constantly, October may bring only three more storms, two of which may become hurricanes, said William Gray of Colorado State University in an updated storm forecast.

More of this story is available here

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Atlantic Hurricanes Should Slow in Oct-Forecaster

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6392804&section=news

Hurricane Ivan: A Two-Week Anniversary Retrospective

Taken from Reliefweb Serving the information needs of the humanitarian relief community

Article source at Relief Web
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/ca20d7c302266ac8c1256f230043074e?OpenDocument

Source: Government of the Cayman IslandsDate: 2 Oct 2004

Hurricane Ivan: A Two-Week Anniversary RetrospectiveAs Grand Cayman began experiencing tropical storm force winds from the outer bands of category 5 Hurricane Ivan on Saturday afternoon, 11 September, 3,094 persons were in public shelters. Others had made other arrangements for refuge, and as winds rose and the rains began, people throughout the island prayed.

Hurricane force winds set in from approximately 2 a.m. Sunday morning, with the worst conditions, the 155 mph sustained winds and gusts of over 200 miles an hour, being felt between 6 and 11 a.m. As torrential rainfall lashed the island, roofs were torn from buildings, utility poles snapped and trees were uprooted. Even more horrific, driven by Ivan's monstrous winds, the sea rose eight feet above normal levels and surged inland, flooding all that stood in its path.

For more than 24 hours, there was no respite from the pounding winds, rain and seas.
When the last tropical storm force winds died down on Monday morning, shell-shocked residents began emerging to see the full impact of the devastation. Statistics would corroborate initial observations as the week wore on: preliminary damage assessment from the National Hurricane Committee (NHC) indicated that 95% of buildings on Grand Cayman sustained damaged - 10-15% beyond repair. In Breakers and East End, the areas hardest hit, 80% and 50% of homes, respectively, were lost and Bodden Town's coastal strip accounted for another 40% of destroyed homes. Several sections of road along the east and south coasts were ripped up.

Across the island, thousands of people were displaced and dazed, lacking housing, food, water and utilities. Commercial activity was non-existent and vehicles, trailer containers, power lines, buildings and vegetation, swirled together in tangled masses.

Two weeks on, however, Grand Cayman has made real strides towards recovery: just one day after the hurricane, airport services were restarted, and some roads made passable. Basic food, water and other relief supplies were distributed and for several days, supermarkets and other businesses donated necessities to the public. Several gas stations have now reopened for regular business, along with supermarkets and supply stores. Repairs have already begun.

First external response came from the British Royal Navy ships, the Richmond and Waveruler, whose officers provided supplies and humanitarian assistance in the critical first four days. Overseas, families and friends also loaded planes with relief supplies, supplementing provisions sent by the Red Cross and other international agencies. Representatives from Jamaica, Barbados, Honduras and other parts of Central and South America, the USA, Canada, UK, and South Africa, arranged evacuation flights and assistance for their nationals. Many private companies did the same for their employees and large numbers of expatriates and Caymanians alike took advantage of those flights, put on by Cayman Airways, Air Jamaica, and North American and other commercial and chartered carriers.

The British Government also sent two representatives to assess local needs, which resulted in the shipment of additional relief supplies, and also from the UK, came help with security issues and funding for the deployment to Cayman of 21 police officers from the Turks and Caicos, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda.

The Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, themselves only minimally damaged by the hurricane, were back to normalcy within a few days and also sent in supplies. They have also served as a haven for significant numbers of Grand Cayman residents.

Hotels that could, opened their doors to local and incoming relief workers. East End's Morritts Tortuga also arranged a daily supply of 75,000 gallons of fresh water and shower and toilet facilities for that hard-hit district.

Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) restored electricity to emergency facilities such as the airport, NHC headquarters, and the government hospital within four days, despite damage to some 20% of its transmission and distribution system. Service was restored to most of the central George Town business district by the end of the first week (Friday, 17th) and piped water was restored to that area by the following Monday (September 20th) to allow businesses to resume operations that day. Businesses returning to work included all insurance companies and agents, while local clearing banks had already reopened with reduced hours the previous day. They confirmed that their records and data were unaffected and that the banking system remains sound.

Operational government services at the end of the first week included Immigration, Customs, the Companies Registry, Summary Court and the Health Services Authority's general practice clinics and district health centres. Accident and Emergency and in-patient facilities had remained operational throughout. One week after Ivan's passage, the CI Monetary Authority and the Grand Court had reopened and garbage collection services had resumed in many parts of the island.

In the business/financial district, resumption of activity was helped by the fact that 60% of business premises were undamaged and mobile telephone, email and Internet services were restored in days (Cable and Wireless did not lose its cellular service). Already, workers who had left the island in the first few days have begun to return and traffic jams have returned to the centre of George Town.
At the end of week two, priority for housing repair assistance is going to the approximately 800 persons who remain in shelters. Government's national recovery fund, launched with a $1 million donation from the Bank of Butterfield, will be used to provide housing and care for those most severely affected by the hurricane and to assist in the "social, educational, economic, religious and environmental recovery of the Islands." Retirement home residents and those whose homes are uninhabitable were being relocated to one of the local hotels.
Restoration of electricity and piped water continues. Assisted by crews from affiliated companies in Canada, Belize and the USA, CUC is rebuilding power lines out of George Town along the West Bay Road and from the North Sound Road power plant to the South Sound sub-station in preparation to expand service eastward. At the same time, it is preparing its undersea cable and sub-stations in West Bay and Rum Point to start the restoration process for those areas. The Water Authority has restored water eastward to Northward and plans to restart the supply to feeder roads off the main road after testing that pipes are intact. Cayman Water Company is supplying piped water to the West Bay district morning and evening.

Other than ten cases of gastroenteritis treated at the government hospital, there have been no outbreaks of illness. Tetanus vaccinations are being encouraged and are free at health centres, hospitals and at some private doctors.

On Friday the 24th the Governor assented to an amendment of the Police Law that allows the police to impose curfews. This paved the way for one of the most significant signs of recovery, the lifting of the State of Emergency. On Monday, September 27, the Governor rescinded the Emergency Powers he invoked on 11 September as the hurricane careened towards the island. The NHC having stood down, normal governance resumed - including the reopening of the Government Administration Building and its ministry and department offices.
Naturally, worrying issues remain, including the environmental clean-up, short- and longer-term housing and getting children back in school. Parents are assured that classes will resume, even on a limited basis, by the end of October. Some educational services,, such as those for pre-school and special needs students may restart before. With year 11 and 12 students preparing for exams, those groups are also being given priority for an early start.

All around Grand Cayman there is stark evidence of Ivan's visit. It will take much time and care to recover. The psychological trauma may take even longer to overcome. But, as the sun sets in a blaze of oranges and purples over the now tranquil sea, for a moment you can almost forget the harsh scenario that surrounds you. And at night, without the distractions of electricity, you can be enchanted as heaven pulsates with its riot of shimmering stars. In another day or so the moon will be full and already the island is bathed in its brilliant, cleansing light . . . my neighbours- who I only knew by a wave of the hand before Ivan-and I are already talking about a moonlight bar-b-que.
GIS (Cayman Islands Government Information Services)



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Cayman Update is a publication of Cayman Information Service, a virtually Texas company.
Find what you need on the Cayman Islands at

Cayman Islands Internet or Grand Cayman Island

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