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"Paradise Interrupted" - A new Hurricane Ivan Book
Cayman Governor's Introduction
This book contains two stories of Hurricane Ivan, closely interwoven and mutually complementary.
The reader will notice first Courtney Platt’s superb photographs, portraying vividly Grand Cayman in the early aftermath of the storm. They document clearly the appalling devastation wreaked by Ivan, but turning through the pages one is reassured also to find the irrepressible signs of recovery as nature regenerates and the people of Cayman battle with their predicament and begin the long process of recovery.
Joanna Lawrence meanwhile relates in captivating style the personal experiences of herself and her family before, during and after the storm. This is an impressionistic but graphically real account, with which thousands of others who lived through Ivan will readily identify. And the potentially much wider readership that never faced the wrath of Ivan will learn from Joanna what they missed. Never mind whether the experts judge Ivan to have been a Category 5 Hurricane as it ravaged Cayman, it certainly felt like one. No-one who lived through the trauma of Ivan will ever forget it, or the horror and disbelief of seeing afterwards how badly the island had suffered, and the rumour and confusion as people resolutely addressed the task of survival. We all learnt that the famed resilience of Cayman, and its sense of community, much talked of during the Quincentennial Celebrations in 2003, were alive and well.
This book carries a message of hope but also a warning. Ivan will not be the last Hurricane to strike our islands. We all pray that nothing like it will follow for a long time. But we were blessed last September that the peak of the storm came by day, and that the highest sea surge coincided with low tide. We must all digest and remember the lessons from Ivan, and remain vigilant, to ensure we are even more successful in riding out the next huge storm to cross our corner of the Caribbean, whenever that may be.
His Excellency The Governor
Mr. Bruce H. Dinwiddy, CMG
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