Hurricane Dorian Passes Over the BVI, But No Major Damage Reported!

For all those who were worried that Hurricane Dorian could be a repeat of Irma or Maria there is good news. Dorian passed over the BVI yesterday causing flooding, power outages and some minor damage, but nothing like what happened two years ago. Note: Scroll down for video and more photos of the storm.

Here’s what BVI Traveller has learned:

Message from His Excellency The Governor Augustus Jaspert

He said, “We have safely made it through the direct passage of what started out as a Tropical Storm and quickly strengthened into Hurricane Dorian, with no reported loss of life or limb. The Government has begun the important task of restoring power and water, assessing any damage, determining the state of key infrastructure, and the clearing of roads of any debris. Electricity has been restored in several areas of Tortola and will continue to progress as the BVI Electricity Corporation carries out their assessments. The Hurricane Warning that was previously in place has been lifted as of 8:00 p.m. For this we are extremely thankful.”

Article in the BVI Beacon

They said, “As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, forecasters were expecting the centre of Tropical Storm Dorian to pass well to the south of the Virgin Islands, buffeting Puerto Rico and possibly the United States VI but bringing little more than a smattering of rain and wind to this territory. In the ensuing hours, the situation changed dramatically as the storm turned north, and the VI rushed to hunker down for possible hurricane-force winds Wednesday afternoon. In the end, however, the territory was spared a direct hit.”

The article continued, “By 5 p.m. Wednesday, the centre of Hurricane Dorian had passed over St. Thomas, and the winds and rain had died down here. By that time, the Department of Disaster Management had received no reports of major damage, though it did receive some reports of downed trees and lost galvanised roofing on buildings that were previously compromised, according to Chrystall Kanyuck-Abel, DDM’s information and education manager. Still, the VI was battered by heavy rains and winds during the early part of Wednesday afternoon. By 3 p.m. Tortola had lost power, parts of Road Town and Purcell Estate were flooded, waves washed over the coast road near West End, and a curfew had been issued until 6 a.m. Thursday.”

Read the full article in the BVI Beacon

Reports from BVI Villa and Yacht Owners

BVI Traveller reached out to several villa and yacht owners and got the following responses:

A Dream Come True Villa on Virgin Gorda – “My maintenance man checked mid-day and all was fine.”
Bellmare on Virgin Gorda – “No worries. Everything seems to be fine post storm.”
Almost Heaven Villa on Jost Van Dyke – “My villa is fine. I believe the island as a whole is fine. I have not heard of any major damage.”
The Yacht Azuria – “All is good with Azuria and other ships in the Tortola yard, post storm.”
Adventure Charters – “Belline made it through hurricane Dorian safely in her slip at Nanny Cay Marina”

All in all, this time around, it sounds like great news for the BVI!

Photo top courtesy of Freeman Rodgers, BVI Beacon
Video courtesy Emma Sails via Facebook
Photo bottom courtesy of Epic Yacht Charters