Hurricane Omar Visits St Barth
In the early morning hours of October 16, Hurricane Omar passed north of St Barth and delivered 130 mph winds and extremely strong seas. Fortunately, the winds only lasted two to three hours, and most of the damage was due to the strong seas on the south side of the island. The beaches at Saline, Gouverneur, Gustavia, Public, Corossol and Colombier all lost quite a bit of sand and gained some large rocks. Several restaurants in Gustavia along the harbor were damaged but were able to reopen with the week thanks to all the hard work by the owners, staff and volunteers. Mayor Bruno Magras has asked for recognition of a state of natural catastrophe to assist businesses in obtaining insurance coverage. However, in typical St Barth fashion, the cleanup has proceeded at a record pace.
