Although a tragic and deadly catastrophe has in fact occurred, the
latest news sheds light on a better ending for Tortuga Island.
Having gathered several news sources, the task of putting a puzzle
together has taken place. The original confirmation as reported by
several international news agencies, some of which were provided in the
last ECTV newsletter, was authentic and based on eyewitness reports. The
main source of those reports came from two United Nations helicopter
crews who were dispatched to assess the damage to Tortuga caused by
hurricane ‘Jeanne’. When they made their first few flybys, all they
could see was washed out land. Or perhaps better put, no land at all. It
has been reported the broadcast which came over the UN radio was (parts
may be lost in translation) “the island is gone. I can only see large
waves”.
As this UN tandem helicopter crew continued aerial surveillance, bodies
were seen floating in the water. It may have been hundreds washed away
by high winds and tsunami like waves. It is not hard to see how this
tandem crew put two and two together to complete a visual, and make
their report as posted by several news agencies including ECTV.
What was officially reported by UN representatives was based on the
above observations. So indeed, it looked to them as though the Island of
Tortuga had vanished, and all its 26,000 inhabitants were gone. The not
so good news is that in fact, thousands have died, many of which were
seen floating in the waters around Tortuga and Haiti. The search &
rescue operation continues.
Folks, by no means do I wish to paint some sort of rosy picture just
because only two or three thousand have died, not 26,000. It is truly a
disaster which has occurred and is ongoing. The death count is still
unfinished. The prognosis for Central American, Coastal Islands, and the
US Eastern Coast is at best “guarded”. The future is uncertain, and new
tropical storms and renewed hurricanes have yet to subside.