At first light this morning, people could see the damage done by the cyclone last night. The strong gusts started at about 10 o’ clock and within two hours the bashing of the waves and the screaming wind, showed me that this was definitely not caused by a 35 knot wind as forecasted. It turned out to be closer to 75 knots. The papaya tree fell first, then the roof of the veranda started shaking and simply blew off and the mango trees took a serious beating as well. I walked up and down in the house, praying for the safety of the people and their boats. Gabriel is out on land at the boatyard in the north of the island and Dries let me know that the wind was much lighter there.
There were tears this morning when the full scope of the carnage became visible. There were many yachts washed up on shore or on the rocks. Our neighbours in the apartment below us, found their boat amidst the traditional boats ‘botry’ this morning. My heart goes out to them and the Malagasy people who lost their livelihoods. The Malagasy people are very resilient and at first light people were out to help others salvage what could still float.
Our biggest concern was the school’s roof as we lost the roof during the last cyclone season. God is good. The roof was fine and we are very thankful.
How many people does it take to chop down and remove a fallen tree from the road? Well, a whole village actually. Dries was stuck on the road this morning waiting for a fallen tree to be removed.
The pontoon of the marina was destroyed completely and a tree also fell across the road in front of the yacht club. This tree required the fire department’s intervention. The use of the word department is definitely misleading. There is but one fire truck on this island and it is always on duty at the airport. Their chainsaw appeared to be rather feeble, so I think that the tree will not move soon.
Thank you for praying for us. It was so heartwarming to hear that people who we don’t even know had prayed fervently. We appreciate you.
E-posadres: lynettedj@gmail.com
Bank: ABSA, Lynette de Jager, Rekeningnr: 1410142909, Takkode: 632005