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Message Board a link to stricken islands
Bahamas residents, family members find each other through message board
BY DONNA PAZDERA Staff Writer -- Web-posted: 12:44 p.m. Sep. 16, 1999

Abaco Girl, are you out there?

Her family and friends think she is safe, but no one has heard anything from Cheryl Christ, aka "Abaco Girl" since Tuesday morning. Christ lives on Guana Cay, Abaco.

On Tuesday, as Hurricane Floyd howled outside her home, she was able to post a few dispatches to a computer message board about hurricane activity in the Bahamas.

Her last message, posted just before 10 a.m. said,

"Winds are bending the trees over. Structures are still standingWe have a backup plan to go to the little phone company here - - all block structure. So far, our homes are good. a few shingles off. It's howling out there."

Then, around mid-morning, the phone lines went dead and Christ's dispatches stopped.

"I haven't slept and am half sick from not hearing anything," wrote Shirley Kelley, Christ's mother.

With communications virtually shut off, the message board on the Caribbean Hurricane Page is the only link many people have to their loved ones or friends.

Strangers reach out to each other via the Internet to offer any piece of information they can.

Julio Ripoll, an amateur radio operator based at the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, reported what he had heard through a Ham radio operator on Green Turtle Cay:

"There have been no reports of loss of life on Abaco. But there is very severe damage to the buildings and infrastructure."

What makes the limited communication especially distressing is that the radio networks can only handle emergency traffic for relief efforts, Ripoll said.

"Please be patient and stay optimistic," Ripoll said. "It may take a few days for specific information."

Early reports indicate there were no deaths related to the storm, but the Bahamian government said one person is missing on Grand Bahama Island.

The airports in Nassau, Paradise Island and San Salvador are open, although the airport in Freeport will stay closed until Friday because of flooding, according to a government news release.

Many of the islands are reporting major structural damage and no water, telephones or electricity.

While Nassau appeared to have gotten through the storm with little major damage, many people reported flooding in buildings, between six and eight feet deep, along with collapsed and roofless buildings. There were reports of satellite dishes flying past during the storm, and unmoored boats lying in the streets.

One person reported that Elbow Cay was cut in half by the storm, and Marsh Harbour suffered a lot of damage.

The Bahamian government reported that most of the country's 700 islands weathered the storm, solid information about the fate of Eleuthera, San Salvador and Abaco was difficult to come by.

The prime minister was expected to fly over the affected areas on Wednesday afternoon and report back about the damage, according to a news release from the Bahamian government.

Rory Knowles, an alarm company worker from Nassau, tapped out a missive on Wednesday morning using a computer at a nearby shop powered by a generator.

Knowles had heard radio reports of widespread looting throughout Nassau. He confirmed this with his own personal experience as he drove around on Tuesday afternoon.

"(There were) many teens in groups walking around in what seemed to still be about 60 - 80 mph gusts, and heavy rain, at about 2pm Tuesday. They were breaking in shops, smashing windows and causing distress. One shop merchant on Bay street was standing outside his shop with a shotgun as there was very little show of police."

Despite the limited access to the islands, Gulfstream International Airlines has coordinated flights to bring goods to the areas of Abaco and Eleuthera as soon as the airports are operational .

Those wanting to donate canned goods and other necessities should do so at Gulfstream's warehouse : 5925 Ravenswood Road, Bay 16, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312. Telephone (954) 266-3000 receptionist 200.

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BY DONNA PAZDERA, Staff Writer Web-posted: 3:40 p.m. Sep. 15, 1999

Her mother still hasn't heard from her, but it looks like Abaco Girl made it through Hurricane Floyd unscathed.

Cheryl Christ, aka "Abaco Girl," lives in Guana Cay, Abaco in the Bahamas.

When Hurricane Floyd bore down on the island, Abaco Girl posted messages on an Internet bulletin board, describing the effects of the storm. When the power was knocked out and the island's already shaky telephone service failed, her missives stopped.

That was mid-morning on Tuesday. Aside from amateur radio operators giving brief reports or people finding creative ways to get messages posted on the Caribbean Hurricane Page, information about Abaco and many of the smaller out islands has been minimal.

For Christ's mother, Shirley Kelley, the vigil for a phone call or news from her daughter is something she has grown accustomed to, but not completely accepted.

"When I know those hurricanes are coming, I live on the edge and follow them on the computer," Kelley wrote via e-mail to a reporter. "We all have computers and keep in touch with each other. She gives us a blow by blow description of what to expect. This Floyd came fast and we lost communications early (Tuesday) morning. I cried and I felt sad all day and didn't sleep at night. This was the worst I had worried."

Christ is a registered intensive care unit nurse who moved to the Abacos five years ago from her hometown of Johnstown, Pa. Last month, she married a man named Vince Vittoria, with whom she rode out the storm.

Wednesday was Kelley's 69th birthday.

Late yesterday afternoon, Kelley spotted a posting from the people at Nipper's, Guana Cay's large locals bar. It said that everyone on Abaco was fine.

Though she still hadn't heard from Christ, Kelley said, "I got the greatest gift from the word from Nippers that all the people were OK."

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