Who Wants a Generator for after the Hurricane???

[Rob]

At us$5 a gallon, that would be us$25 a day. The ice and a cooler is much more reasonable... (grin)

[johng]

Rob, hopefully the storm stays east and Jamaica is spared the brunt. You have been through this before I am sure. Yes gas prices are high but if you guys do get hit by the storm having a generator could make a huge difference. Getting ice may be more difficult to get than gas. From the video I have seen of Kingston hours before Matthew hits later today or tonight it looks pretty bad. I can only imagine the south side of the Blue Mountains with flooding and landslides. Hopefully the coffee plantations and especially the country folk get through this OK! My prayers are with you all.

Please keep an update from Negril going if possible. Thanks.....

[captaind]

The new ice factory on the beach road is a wonderful thing.

Ice and coolers are the way to go!

Cap

[johng]

BTW Cap, I just spoke with Jet Blue. No discounted airfare JFK to MoBay despite the empty seats due to cancellations.

[Rob]

Rob, hopefully the storm stays east and Jamaica is spared the brunt. You have been through this before I am sure. Yes gas prices are high but if you guys do get hit by the storm having a generator could make a huge difference. Getting ice may be more difficult to get than gas. From the video I have seen of Kingston hours before Matthew hits later today or tonight it looks pretty bad... Please keep an update from Negril going if possible. Thanks.....

Johng,

Jamaica and especially the west side of the island will be spared from the brunt of the storm. The eye is passing well off shore to the east and the further west you get, the less impact there will be.

Living in Jamaica, not just visiting, I have been here and seen every single major storm that has effected the island since my first experience with Gilbert in 1988. I have been through this more times than I can count. We have even had hurricane webcasts so visitors could watch and hear what was happening in real time.

From this perspective, Gilbert was a fast nasty storm, lasting nearly a day but obliterated everything wooden including the trees. You could stand on the beach and see the base of the mountains on the far side of the Great Morass. Ivan was a "baby storm" compared to Gilbert. It was a slow moving one with lots of rain but minimal winds in comparison.

I have made the decision to evacuate twice over the years. And when you have minutes to make a choice of what is truly important to keep, you realize very quickly how much "stuff" you have that you do not need. One evac turned out to be a wise move, but the second, Ivan, turned out to be a waste of time. I should have just stayed put because of the minimal winds.

I have never needed or thought about having a generator, but they certainly have their place. After Gilbert, we saw tourists "bidding" on ice at the Negril Tree House since they had a generator and an ice maker. That was when Jimmy Jackson got the idea of building the ice factory. Ice has been easy to get ever since with multiple factories popping up all over now. Gas can be harder to get at times. When the gas runs out, you have to wait for the tanker to show up. Right now you can buy ice even at Burger King.

The video of Kingston rains were the same rain we mentioned yesterday afternoon as the first band passed over the island. Those roads shown in the Kingston video typically flood, so take that for what it is worth.

We will be keeping the updates coming, no worries! We will have pics and possibly video, if there turns out to be anything of consequence to video as Matthew passes the island during the next two days.

Stay tuned...

[Rob]

Johng,

An interesting article in the Observer about generators and their proper use...

http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/...-generator-use