Devastating stories from Grand Cayman, including an unconfirmed report of 50 fatalities:

Angela and her friends Darina Fennel ,Nick Robinson, Darina's sister and boyfriend who are visiting,Emma and Clive and those who sheltered in Walkers Building and Caledonia house are okay, including Mr William Walker and his sons Robert and David.(The rest of the Walker family are not on the Island.)She said the navy ships are trying to get in now although they have been near all day but due to the bad conditions of the waves could not come close.Angela said that where they live just south of Georgetown just next to the water by some miracle, their apartment on the 2nd floor still is intact except for some water damage near the door and windows.and the landline phone seemed to be working ,but they feel it is not safe to live there because of the ocean conditions and they are moving back to a shelter.They have some water and some food left.They have spent the day helping others whose homes are either non existent or badly damaged and trying to help salvage some of the possessions. At this point they have not been able to make contact with other parts of the Island but they do know there are at least 50 people who have lost their lives.She said that they hope they can leave the Island as soon as The Powers That Be can help everyone to make arrangement ,as the Island is not livable given that there is no water , no electricity and the tremendous damage.

I have been trolling for news on my favorite places and people, and am struck by the can-do attitude of the victims on the scene, in terms of getting the infrastructure working again. More Cayman news at CaymanNet News.

UPDATE: Here's that fighting spirit in action:

The absolute priority of the Cayman Islands Government is to ensure the Islands get back on their feet. The Cabinet Secretary, Orrett Connor, said: "The Cayman Islands has picked itself up from hurricanes in the past. There is a tremendous team spirit here, and we are working together to rebuild and regroup. We are absolutely determined to be back in business extremely quickly."

I love these people!