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STORY: GRENADA / HURRICANE RECOVERY
TRT: 7.11
SOURCE: 21ST CENTURY / GRENADA BROADCASTING NETWORK / NOAA / NASA-NHC
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: NOVEMBER 2009, GRENADA / FILE
NOVEMBER 2009, GRENADA
1. Various shots, Grenada at sunset
2. Wide shot, people walking in the beaches
3. Med shot, mangrove
4. Wide shot, boats lining the coastline
5. Med shot, nutmeg being crushed
6. Various shots, nutmeg growing on the trees.
FILE - BROADCASTING NETWORK / 2005, GRENADA
7. Wide shot, hurricane sweeping through streets
8. Med shot, car driving through flooded street
9. Med shot, woman crossing street
10. Wide shot, homes under water
11. Various shots, aftermath devastation around the island
NOVEMBER 2009, GRENADA
12. Wide shot, John Branch in his Nutmeg farm
13. SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch, Nutmeg farmer, Grenada:
“During Ivan, the winds came down and totally smashed up and eradicated the house. I had to leave and run across to my garage which we now converted to the home.”
FILE – UNTV / 2005 GRENADA
14. Med shot, men sweeping water out of their homes
15. Wide shots, trucks with people
16 Various shots, scenes of devastation
NOVEMBER 2009, GRENADA
17. Wide shot, aerial view of Grenada
18. Pan left, Andrew’s house
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Philbert Andrews, native of Grenada:
“The roof lifted and went so. It fell right in the garden and then before we came out, we see the galvanized or the kitchen started to rock.”
20. Various shots, Andrews in his garden
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Philbert Andrews:
“If? If I was scared? If you put a plate of food in front of me, I don’t want it. All of us were scared. I’m not lying.”
22. Various shots, half sunken boats in the harbour
23. Various shots, workers trying to clear vegetation
24. SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch, Nutmeg farmer, Grenada:
“Ninety-five percent of our nutmegs were destroyed, plus roads and access to the remaining fields. You could see us abandon some fields and depend mainly on the tourists, the cruise ship trade as a source of income to pay the workers.”
25. Various shots, fields and trees
26. Various shots, tourists buying local produce
27. Wide shot, cruise ship
28. Various shots, nutmeg factory
29. Various shots, scenes of women working in factory
30. SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch, Nutmeg farmer, Grenada:
“For a real, economic, full production it will take about 10 years for a nutmeg tree to come into full bloom.”
31. Tilt up, Branch’s house,
32. Various shot, Branch speaking with tourists
33. SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch and tourist:
Woman: “But it has the flavour?”
Branch: “Yes, yes. It has the nutmeg flavour”
34. Various shots, workers and nutmeg trees
35. Med shot, nutmeg yield
36. Various shots, new houses under construction
37. SOUNDBITE (English) Philbert Andrews:
“They came and gave us a new house. I said thanks very much. We see where we are going but we don’t know what’s coming.”
ANIMATED GRAPH - NOAA,
38. Zoom in, animated map of Grenada
ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE - GRENADA BROADCASTING NETWORK
39. Various shots, black and white footage
NOVEMBER 2009, GRENADA
40. Wide shot, Grenada bay
41. Close up, Steve Nimrod looking out at the bay
42. SOUNDBITE (English) Steve Nimrod, scientist:
“One of the main predictions of climate change is actually global warming a predicted increase in frequency and intensity of hurricanes. Hurricanes basically start on the oceans and it’s the heat in the oceans that really fuel the hurricanes.”
ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE – NASA-NHC
43. Wide shot, storm in the ocean
44. Zoom in, map of the Caribbean
45. Zoom in, animation of hurricane belt
NOVEMBER 2009, GRENADA
46. SOUNDBITE (English) Crofton Isaac, Marine Biologist:
“If there is global climate change, then global positioning in regards to where the hurricane belt is and where it is not has to be reconsidered.”
47. Wide shot, Isaac looking at his computer
48. Close up, maps and tables on his computer screen
49. Close up, Crofton Isaac hands holding the computer mouse
50. SOUNDBITE (English) Crofton Isaac, Marine Biologist:
“If you don’t change, and you rely on the old maps and the old paradigms, then you are in for a serious shock.”
51. Wide shot, beach
52. Med shot, people swimming
53. Med shot, tide coming in
54. Zoom in, Grenada bay
55. Various shots, encroaching tide
56. Wide shot, silhouette of man on the shore
57. Wide shot, tide
58. Med shot, local bird
59. Various shots, mangroves
60. Various shots, construction underway at mangrove site
61. Various shots, new road in construction
62. Wide shot, boats in bay
63. Various shots, animals and debris by the shoreline
64. SOUNDBITE (English) Steve Nimrod, scientist:
“It poses a risk factor for when we have surging waves and storms and all of that sort of stuff”.
65. Med shot, John Branch showing new construction on his house
66. Various shots, house construction
67. SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch, Nutmeg farmer, Grenada:
“The house was in wood; we changed up most of everything to concrete. So basically, we are hurricane proof to a certain point but no one can tell.”
68. Various shots, Grenadian sunset
Grenada, an island paradise with beautiful beaches sturdy mangroves and untouched beauty.
The island produces one of the world’s best tasting nutmegs. It’s even known as the “Spice Island” of the Caribbean.
But everything changed for Grenada’s 100,000 people when Hurricane Ivan hit the island in September 2004.
It was the one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded. It caught islanders by surprise.
Nutmeg farmer, John Branch, remembers that dark day.
SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch, Nutmeg farmer, Grenada:
“During Ivan, the winds came down and totally smashed up and eradicated the house. I had to leave and run across to my garage which we now converted to the home.”
Hurricane Ivan pummelled the island for six hours straight. Thirty-nine people died. Ninety percent of homes were destroyed. Virtually every major building in St. George’s, the capital, suffered structural damage.
SOUNDBITE (English) Philbert Andrews:
“The roof lifted and went so. It fell right in the garden and then before we came out, we see the galvanized or the kitchen started to rock.”
Philbert Andrews was terrified as 125 mile-per-hour winds whipped around him.
SOUNDBITE (English) Philbert Andrews:
“If? If I was scared? If you put a plate of food in front of me, I don’t want it. All of us were scared. I’m not lying.”
Damages from Hurricane Ivan totalled more than 800 million US dollars. Such a huge loss crippled Grenada’s economy. The agriculture and tourism industries were almost wiped out.
SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch, Nutmeg farmer, Grenada:
“Ninety-five percent of our nutmegs were destroyed, plus roads and access to the remaining fields. You could see us abandon some fields and depend mainly on the tourists, the cruise ship trade as a source of income to pay the workers.”
Grenada is the world’s second largest exporter of nutmeg. Ivan destroyed 4.5 million dollars worth of stock waiting for shipment – a quarter of that year’s nutmeg revenue.
John’s estate produced more nutmeg than any other farm on the island. His plantation once fetched close to half a ton a week. Now he barely gets a fraction of that.
SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch, Nutmeg farmer, Grenada:
“For a real, economic, full production it will take about 10 years for a nutmeg tree to come into full bloom.”
While he waits for his nutmeg trees to mature, the little he reaps is sold to tourists.
SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch and Tourist:
Woman: “But it has the flavour?”
John Branch: “Yes, yes. It has the nutmeg flavour”
John’s loss and that of other farmers prompted the Government to finance replanting efforts. This is the first harvest since Ivan.
Grenada also gave homeowners grants to fix up their properties. Some even got new homes.
SOUNDBITE (English) Philbert Andrews, native of Grenada:
“They came and gave us a new house. I said thanks very much. We see where we are going but we don’t know what’s coming.”
The last hurricane before Ivan – Hurricane Janet – struck Grenada in 1955. After nearly 50 years of storm-free living, the nation was totally unprepared.
But scientists like Steve Nimrod worry that Ivan could be a sign of what’s to come.
SOUNDBITE (English) Steve Nimrod, scientist:
“One of the main predictions of climate change is actually global warming a predicted increase in frequency and intensity of hurricanes. Hurricanes basically start on the oceans and it’s the heat in the oceans that really fuel the hurricanes.”
Another reason islanders were stunned by Ivan is that Grenada officially sits south of what scientists call the “Caribbean hurricane belt.”
SOUNDBITE (English) Crofton Isaac, Marine Biologist, Grenada:
“If there is global climate change, then global positioning in regards to where the hurricane belt is and where it is not has to be reconsidered.”
Crofton Isaac is a Marine Biologist. He says a change in climate may be altering the hurricane belt, placing Grenada right in harm’s way.
SOUNDBITE (English) Crofton Isaac, Marine Biologist, Grenada:
“If you don’t change, and you rely on the old maps and the old paradigms, then you are in for a serious shock.”
Perhaps Grenada’s greatest threat now – apart from another deadly hurricane, like Ivan is rising sea levels and sea water intrusion.
In some parts, residents say land loss accounts for some 60 feet. And higher storm surges more than five feet high add to further land loss as sea water slowly nibbles away at the island’s rim.
Grenadines fear that surges could double in two years if the ocean continues to warm.
Preventing further erosion from water intrusion is critical to the island’s economic stability. Mangroves act as a buffer against storms, holding the sea back. They also serve as nesting sites for birds, crabs and fish. A project is underway to revive them after destruction by Ivan.
This road was moved further inland and sea wall defences were erected where the old road once stood. It’s another measure to protect the land from flooding.
But islanders who live and work near the shoreline depend on the sea for everything living too close to it is no longer safe.
SOUNDBITE (English) Steve Nimrod, scientist:
“It poses a risk factor for when we have surging waves and storms and all of that sort of stuff”.
For John, he only finished rebuilding his home this year. He had to sell some of his land to complete it. He is now taking steps to add hurricane safety features.
SOUNDBITE (English) John Branch, Nutmeg farmer, Grenada:
“The house was in wood; we changed up most of everything to concrete. So basically, we are hurricane proof to a certain point but no one can tell.”
Grenadines wait patiently for the next storm. But this time, they’re equipped and ready to fight back.
