A few shots taken after Ivan

I thought I'd post a link to some photos I took when we stayed at the beach while hurricane Ivan struck in 2004. I have more and many videos of the days before when we first arrived and what we saw during this storm and after. I am trying to edit the clips so they won't be so long. Hopefully I can have some ready while I am off for the holidays this weekend. We were staying at the Beach Comber Club next to margaritaville but had to leave because they lost power. We moved to the TH and met Gail. We had stayed there before and knew we loved it and were happy they could take us in for the rest of our 2 week visit. We will be in Negril the first week in October and would have loved to book at the TH again but they were full.

http://home.comcast.net/~cliff-f/BeachDamage/index.html

http://home.comcast.net/~cliff-f/Hum...rds/index.html

Crazy how much more beach there was back then...

I'm surprised you can tell from what little the pictures show. One thing I do remember after visiting the second time was there seemed to be a slight difference each time I arrived. I didn't give it much thought and assumed it was from the storms in that region. Maybe the hills are getting bigger and the island is just getting taller and heavier.

I could tell by your pics of mariposa and gatehouse. Totally different now.

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Originally Posted by Flipadelphia26

Crazy how much more beach there was back then...

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yes ....eroision is crazy ...you should have seen the beach in 1987.

Saw the beach back in 1985, was on the beach for Gilbert in 88 (that was something I never want to have to go through again), was here for Ivan in 2004 and the see the beach pretty much everyday.

As some have mentioned in the past, any beach is a "living" thing in a constant state of change. The shifting sands do just that, shift - they come and go as nature guides with the waves and sea action. When man puts something in the way, such as the concrete structure at Mariposa, the nature of the beach is interrupted and the sand is handled in a different way. Rather than being able for the waves to ride up the beach and recede, they strike the wall and essentially scour out more sand.

Here is a post I made back in January of 2012 - it is still applicable today:

To all,

Here is a picture that I took just a couple minutes ago on the beach at Charela Inn. Please note the position of their sign as well as the curve of the bay off in the distance.

Attachment 29183

Here is a picture I took at this same location back in March of 1998. It was featured on the Negril.com Negril Today page.

Attachment 29184

Once again note the sign and the curve of the bay in the background. As you notice, they are taken from approximately the same position, but some 14 years apart.

For the Smith Warner report from 2008 as referenced in the article to be accurate, there must be some 40 to 80 feet of beach missing since that old picture was taken in 1998. Do you see 40 to 80 feet of beach missing in the current picture?

As Kahuna said, "articles such as this often are written to sensationalize a cause, and can be overly pessimistic".

Grand Cayman was wiped out from Hurricane Ivan. I did not recognize areas where I had once lived. Experienced Gilbert in 88! Whoa!

Here are a couple of shots of my house in Accompong destroyed by Hurricane Ivan.

Hurricane Ivan Satellite View
Attachment 29185
Before the hurricane
Attachment 29186
and a couple of shots taken the next day.
Attachment 29187Attachment 29188

Peace and Guidance

Acc,

Trying to send you a PM but your mailbox is full

Cap

What about the cliff side? Is there any noticeable difference there? I'm also trying to remember the place we stopped in that had the old white car parked out front. Has the whole island changed the same way Negril has? How about the Black River? Has anyone been to Mayfield Falls? Is that still active? I think the old tree house at YS is now rebuilt on the ground. Does anyone have any history of that when it was in the tree? Was it ever usable? Man I miss Jamaica. Once in the '80s I looked at a farm out side MoBay that I was told was for sale. I know I have photos of the pigs. I think the banana trees were suffering that year as they looked real bad. Man I miss Jamaica.

Al,

The cliffs got massed up by Ivan - Rick's was destroyed to the point that they completely rebuilt. Catcha Falling Star lost a few buildings and the almond tree by the sea was killed by all the seawater. It is now the centerpiece of their Ivan's Bar.

Most of the changes came after Gilbert. Before Gilbert there were a lot of wooden, thatch and bamboo structures. When they were completely obliterated to the point you couldnt even tell where they were located, people rebuilt using concrete. While not being immune as Accompong clearly shows, concrete does offer much more protection than wood and thatch.

There was actually less total damage caused by Ivan because of the move to concrete in 1989 after Gilbert. After Ivan in 2004, Negril still looked like Negril. After Gilbert, you almost couldnt tell there was a place called Negril. The wooden structures were nearly all gone. You could stand on the beach and see the base of the mountains in any direction. The tallest things obstructing your view were big trees lying on their side with all their branches gone.

The Black River absorbed nature as it always does - they still offer their river safari cruises and you can feed the crocs. Mayfield Falls still have their river walk and you can swim through an underwater passage and arrive safely on the pool on the other side.

YS Falls has been improved, you no longer need to be an athlete to make it to the top, they have steps and rails to make the climb much easier. They also added a zipline that takes you down the entire length of the falls. It is always fun to hear the screams of first time zipliners... (grin)

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Originally Posted by captaind

Acc,

Trying to send you a PM but your mailbox is full

Cap

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You can try again, David.

Peace and Guidance

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Originally Posted by Rob

Al,

The cliffs got massed up by Ivan - Rick's was destroyed to the point that they completely rebuilt. Catcha Falling Star lost a few buildings and the almond tree by the sea was killed by all the seawater. It is now the centerpiece of their Ivan's Bar.

Most of the changes came after Gilbert. Before Gilbert there were a lot of wooden, thatch and bamboo structures. When they were completely obliterated to the point you couldnt even tell where they were located, people rebuilt using concrete. While not being immune as Accompong clearly shows, concrete does offer much more protection than wood and thatch.

There was actually less total damage caused by Ivan because of the move to concrete in 1989 after Gilbert. After Ivan in 2004, Negril still looked like Negril. After Gilbert, you almost couldnt tell there was a place called Negril. The wooden structures were nearly all gone. You could stand on the beach and see the base of the mountains in any direction. The tallest things obstructing your view were big trees lying on their side with all their branches gone.

The Black River absorbed nature as it always does - they still offer their river safari cruises and you can feed the crocs. Mayfield Falls still have their river walk and you can swim through an underwater passage and arrive safely on the pool on the other side.

YS Falls has been improved, you no longer need to be an athlete to make it to the top, they have steps and rails to make the climb much easier. They also added a zipline that takes you down the entire length of the falls. It is always fun to hear the screams of first time zipliners... (grin)

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Thanks for the great update. I guess I will spend much of my stay revisiting Negril. I remember Rick's closing after Ivan and read that is was rebuilt. I am looking forward to another sunset photo event. Unfortunately we can only spend one week away from our jobs but I know now I will be returning at least once a year from now on.

With airfare already purchased and after a conversation with Geno at Mariposa that the generator was working we dropped in 2 days after Ivan. Our suitcases were packed with rechargeable power tools, screws, nails and tool belts. With machete and newly purchased chain saw every road seemed like a clearing project. In the hills we had already told a friend to distribute our igloos out to preserve food for those w/o current (everybody) and 2 or 3 days into the trip when ice became available we every trip included loading as much ice into the Island Car and getting it to the hills as fast as we could. A friends orchard had been devestated and the chain saw would cut split over trees to make braces to prop the root balled trees back up. I will always remember that with the leafs all gone how hot it was, then in Feb of the following year the combination of foliage on the ground and a drought causing fires in the hills. Mom's Place restaurant was buried under about 6 feet of sand, they had to dig down into it. That was the end of the old Boat Bar building. My laughs of the week were Fidel explaining the Chop Bush song to me before we had heard it as we sat after chopping the road clear drinking a cold bottle of water on the side of a road out in the savanna and bringing phones and chargers into the room to re-charge and our room becoming a ringer a minute as they took power.

Remember visiting after Gilbert and Ivan beach sure was mashed up but in no time crews were working to bring it back.Remember walking the beach thinking it will never be the same but in no time it was bussiness as usual.

Attachment 29220Ricks being rebilt

Attachment 29221

Attachment 29222

Attachment 29223Attachment 29224

Those are great shots. It's nice to see the progress taking place. Thank you very much.

Just a note to folks that might not read this whole thread- or even the first line that states IVAN HAPPENED IN 2004!!!! Not too sure why these pics are posted now??? but remember Newbies- THIS WAS NINE YEARS AGO- AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE PRESENT-OK?

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Originally Posted by Island Girl

Just a note to folks that might not read this whole thread- or even the first line that states IVAN HAPPENED IN 2004!!!!

Not too sure why these pics are posted now???

but remember Newbies- THIS WAS NINE YEARS AGO- AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE PRESENT-OK?

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There are many posts and pictures posted from past visits and how the island looked then and now. I wouldn't be concerned about those that don't bother to read an entire thread. 2004 was the last time I visited and others had shown an interest in some of my shots and videos I took of the event. I can't see how there would be any misunderstanding or how someone would not at least read the first post. Ya don't have ta yell. ;)

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Originally Posted by Al Drake

There are many posts and pictures posted from past visits and how the island looked then and now. I wouldn't be concerned about those that don't bother to read an entire thread. 2004 was the last time I visited and others had shown an interest in some of my shots and videos I took of the event. I can't see how there would be any misunderstanding or how someone would not at least read the first post. Ya don't have ta yell. ;)

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Actually Al, over the years since I started this message board in 1997, I have seen hundreds of cases where people have mistaken threads, post and photos as being current when they had nothing to do with the current situation.

Island Girl's note is very much appreciated and can be necessary for some folks who quickly browse the thread and dont clearly read all the posts.