JAMAICA: "It's very boring really waiting around, but it's the sensible thing to do," Irish woman Mrs Dawn McCauley explained as she and her husband prepared for Hurricane Ivan's deadly winds and accompanying monstrous waves to bear down on Jamaica, writes Fiona Tyrrell
With everything tied down and the supplies bought in, it's a case of waiting to see how bad it gets, according to the Armagh woman, one of about 100 Irish people living in Jamaica.
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday evening (1 p.m. local time) Mrs McCauley said that the rain had just started and the barometer had just dropped.
"It has been very clear until now, but now the rain has started and the wind has picked up slightly. It looks just like any other wet day.
"We have been warned that it will last the whole night, and we expect to have no electricity tonight or tomorrow."
All businesses closed up on Thursday and people purchased their provision and packed away anything and everything, she explained. Then the waiting game began.
"The temptation is there to go out for a spin the car, but that would not be sensible," she said.
"People are being very careful and are quite nervous. Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 was absolutely dreadful, and everybody knows how bad it can be and is staying indoors. We have seen what Gilbert did to Grenada and are quite worried."
Mrs McCauley has been living in Jamaica for the last 38 years. Having moved out there to teach Spanish, she is now working in the Brazilian embassy.
As more than half a million people were evacuated yesterday, she said that she and her husband, Peter, were lucky to be living 550 feet above sea level.
"Those who were evicted were from the dormitory town of Portmore, which is very low-lying. There were always fears about the effects of a big storm on the town."