(This story was published in Kory South's hometown newspaper in Malad, Idaho USA. Kory is manager of Sunset Resort Villa in Teasure Beach.)
As Hurricane Ivan was bearing down on the island of Jamaica last Thursday, former Malad resident Kory South and a 10-man crew were busy battening down Gordon South’s Sunset Resort Villa, located at Treasure Beach in Saint Elizabeth, on Jamaica’s south coast.
Kory, who grew up in Malad City, Idaho USA, and graduated from Malad High School, manages the beach front resort for his father.
Last Thursday evening, in a telephone conversation with The Idaho Enterprise, Kory said he was exhausted after putting in 15 hours trying to secure all the 5 1/2-acre property against the 140-mph winds that were expected Friday. He had been monitoring the storm’s path every chance he got throughout the day, he said, and it appeared Jamaica was going to take a direct hit.
“It’s amazing what you hve to do here to prepare for something like this,” Kory told the Enterprise.”
It took 37 sheets of plywood to cover the resort windows, and while the structure itself was built to hurricane standards (and Kory expected it to stand) he was worried about what might happen to the tile roofing.
The day previous he had helped coordinate an effort to alert the community of the impending danger. “We went out in a car with a big speaker on top blasting out the news,” he said, “because a lot of people here don’t always know what is going on.”
Kory was just elected counselor of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association. He said, “We evacuated several of the big hotels here, and have sent fliers throughout the community.” His own staff was told to go home and take measures to secure their families and premises.
Still, he expressed deep concern about many of the local citizenry.
“What I’ve noticed in the area is people have sort of haphazardly prepared for this with maybe one or two sheets of plywood,” he said. “I hope there’s not a substantial loss of life.” He wondered if maybe some memories have dimmed a little since the last major hurricane in the 1980s.
According to a news report about that event, Hurricane Gilbert struck land on September 12, 1988, and hammered the Jamaican island, unleashing torrential rains and 115 mph sustained winds and gusts as high as 140 mph. The massive storm ripped the roofs off of buildings, including a local hospital, and pounded beachfront resorts with 20-ft. waves. All tolled, 26 people were killed and 500,000 were left homeless. It is described as “the single most powerful hurricane ever recorded during the Atlantic hurricane season.”
Last month, when Hurricane Charley went through, Kory said he had to get a small boat and rescue people who were trapped on the roofs of their houses.
As of Thursday night, Kory and his family had moved out of their own house. They were planning on riding out the storm in a concrete area located 30 feet above the sea with three sea walls for protection.
“The storm surge might take out the first two walls,” he said, “but we have never seen it take the third one out yet.” He expected his generator would keep his appliances working.
All the guests at South’s Sunset Resort were encouraged to leave well in advance of Ivan, which they did. There was one 62-year-old lady from California, however, who ended up weathering it out with Kory and his family.
“She flew all night, bless her heart,” Kory said. “And when she finally got here, she didn’t want to go back.”
He said, “She’s staying in the room with me and my family, and I’m doing the cooking.”
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Gordon South told The Enterprise Monday that while Hurricane Ivan did leave behind a lot of property damage, Kory and his family came through unscathed, and as far as he knows, there was no loss of life in the community around Treasure Beach where his resort is located. Across Jamaica, however, the storm has been held responsible for 17 deaths.
With 150-mph winds, Hurricane Ivan was definitely catastrophic, Gordon said, and making matters worse, the storm hung around for three days.
He said the hurricane eye, located four to five miles out to sea from Jamaica, was 60 miles wide, and the storm itself was 300 miles around. It was large enough to be hitting the Caymen Islands at the same time it was pounding Jamaica.
The 30-foot cement sea wall, built to protect the South’s Sunset Resort, did it’s job against the massive 30-foot sea surge the hurricane created. But while the cement stopped the surge, the huge waves crashing off the walls dug a 30-foot hole in the ground that it will take a lot of dirt to fill.
The roof that Kory was worried about held on the main building; however the wind destroyed the roofs on three smaller buildings. Two big hotels in the area lost their roofs entirely, and many individual dwellings in the community are now without roofs. News reports estimate as many as 80 percent of roofs in the area are gone.
The wind was so strong that it took the paint right off the buildings, as if they had been sandblasted, Kory told his father. It sounded like a freight train. He said the wind-driven rain came in horizontally rather than straight down, and this allowed the water to get up underneath the aluminum shingles on the guest house. As a result, the sheet rock in three of the rooms was damaged and will have to be redone.
Fifteen coconut trees that lined the driveway to the resort were sucked out of the ground and are gone forever. Kory said he doesn’t know where they ended up.
All the many and varied plants, that are so beautiful, were stripped of their green foliage. In that respect, Kory said, it looks like winter. The community was left without electric power or telephones.
One small fishing boat was carried five miles away where it was found smashed in a field. One family friend, who was going to ride out the storm in his home, ended up moving in with Kory and his family. When he went back home, there was a large wooden pole lying in his bed. He would probably have been killed had he been lying there.
“We feel very lucky to have escaped with no one hurt,” Gordon said. “Material things can be replaced; people can’t.”

WE are very relieved to know that Kory and his family are OK. We stayed with Kory twice and enjoyed his hospitality immensely. Our son was at Tranquility Bay. We have worried very much about everyone there and the wonderful people of Treasure Beach.
Kitty and Mike Faulkenberry

Kitty, Perhaps you can post this link on the wwasp bbs. I am sure there are Tranquility Bay parents who would be interested in donating. My son was also at TB but I do not have access to their bbs.

http://treasurebeach.net/guide/ivan/ivanrelief.html

Mom, I don't have access to the bbs general formum or to the Tranquility Bay site either one. Our son was pulled from TB due to finances and we do not have access to the sites.
I am really sorry about that but I can e-mail Jay when some time has past and see what we can do. I am certain that donations will be forthcoming from Tranquility Bay parents past and present who love the school and the Jamaican people.

I currently have a child at TB and I have posted on the parent bulletin board so that people can donate.

[THANK YOU SO MUCH, TBMom - from TBNet]

Glad to hear Kory and family are fine. Sunset was my first home in TB. Did he have Zim with him? Is he OK too?