Quote Originally Posted by ol'yardie View Post
Beryl is following a track almost identical to Gilbert in 1988. That was 40 years ago, before many Jamaicans of today were born. Back then it had been over 20 years since a major storm hit the island so most people had no concept of what "the Breeze" could do or how to properly prepare.
I sure hope it's different today. STAY AWAY FROM THE BEACH! Gilbert's storm surge washed in over the beach like a tsunami. When it drew back out to sea it took many people with it and they were never found. Zinc roofing became flying swords in the breeze. Folks who left the beach and sheltered in cider block buildings like schools and churches were spared. We were scheduled to fly down that week and had to cancel. It was well over a year before we could make it back and even then much damage was still evident. We heard many horror stories from our friends that week. PLEASE...plan for the worst and hope for the best. Stay safe.
Jamaicans love to spin a yarn. I was ON the beach during Gilbert and there was NO TSUNAMI at all. But it is a heck of a fictional story. No one was dragged out to sea and disappeared. The loss of life happened mainly due to landslides, and people were buried and never found. But NOTHING like what you described happened on the beach. Not even close. The water rose at a relatively slow rate.

On Gilbert's 30th anniversary, I wrote a "blow by blow" account, not fictionalized in any manner. Except for a couple mistakes my sister pointed out about when we arrived back in the States, this is actually what happened during Gilbert. And tomorrow looks to be a repeat of the action, but with hopefully less damage due to the lesser strength. Gilbert arrived as a 4 and left the Negril Beach as a 3 with the eye passing directly over our heads - a truly unbelievable sight. Beryl should hit the island at a 3 in Kingston and depart once again on the Negril beach at a Cat 2.

For the true story of Hurricane Gilbert please read the "Thirty Years Ago on the Beach - A Gilbert Story" at the following link:

https://negril.com/forum/showthread....-Gilbert-Story