Martin Henry

There she was flapping in the wind on a clear, bright, and hot, post-'Dean' morning. The green, black and gold on a hurricane-bent, waiting-to-be-photographed flagpole. Survivor in the front yard of a private preparatory school. Flag flying over recovery work buzzing everywhere. The original (and for me, everlasting) meaning of the flag surviving the battering of yet another hurricane: 'hardships there are, but the land is green and the sun shineth'.

The whole family, thankfully all at home together, and our two dogs, Patches and Nebuchadnezzar, emerged from our hurricane bunker to share warm neighbourly kindness. Disasters pull people together. Phones were busy throughout the big blow and people spilled out of their houses at first light on Monday morning to trade stories and offer help. We are grateful that the phone services held up against 'Dean'.

Our hearts go out to all those who have suffered serious property damage, to those in shelters and to the families of the few who have lost their lives. We are particularly touched by the death of the young girl from a falling concrete block in White Horses in St Thomas, the parish which bore the brunt of the hurricane.

There are mixed feelings about the use of blocks on roofs. There is little doubt that they do help to hold zinc sheeting in place in high winds. But should the roof go, the blocks can fall down as deadly missiles.

To evacuate or not

Using them is a calculated risk; like deciding to evacuate ornot to evacuate. People are torn between safety of person and security or property. There was substantial looting of unoccupied premises during the passage of the hurricane. There is no way that 8,000 police and a fewer number of soldiers can secure property against determined looters in the nooks and crannies of Jamaica, as the Prime Minister promised in her plea for evacuation.

For a number of reasons, deaths in hurricanes have been dramatically reduced: 45 in 'Gilbert', 17 in 'Ivan', fewer than five in 'Dean'. In 1933 at this same time of year, August 14/15, flooding in Kingston and St. Andrew alone, from sustained rain without a hurricane, took 53 lives. Hurricane Charlie passed on August 17, 1951, leaving many dead across the island. The busiest months of the annual hurricane season are September and October. Better warning, better preparations, and better disaster management, and also, definitely, better building practices, especially after the roofing disaster of 'Gilbert', have led to less damage and fewer deaths in hurricanes.

Private enterprise

Citizens' private enterprise has done more for reopening roads, taking care of those in need and for the rehabilitation process than Government action ever could. And that's the way it ought to be: Community enterprise and business free enterprise getting things done.

One of the things which the annual handbook of Jamaica, which was published from the 1880s to the 1970s, dutifully recorded was the passage of hurricanes affecting Jamaica, sometimes more than one in a year.

God bless the chainsaw men, and machete men who as soon as the wind and rain subsided, got busy cutting roads open in their neighbourhood. Someone told me that a mutual acquaintance had lost her roof, "but about 40 men are there putting it on back!" Never mind the count! That is the spirit across Jamaica.

It was a joy to see the maintenance and ancillary staff at the University of Technology busily working to restore the campus. Some of them had suffered damage athome, but they were cheerfully on the job, as were security guards. Against the odds, a canvass banner welcoming new and returning students survived the wind. But students and most staff won't see it for a few more days.

Hurricane Dean has brought destruction, but apparently not on the wide scale of 'Ivan'. But the hurricane has also brought restoration and rest, darkness to night, quietness, and time for reflection and counting our many blessings. And, for good or for ill, a postponement of the elections.