They Call them F5. That's out of 5.

I got an email from an old friend who barely made it out of Grenada today. I personally thought she was in Europe, but it turns out she and her husband just slipped out of Grenada before this happened:

It basically looks as though a tornado tore through the entire
island--unlike tornados, the hurricane was not as selective about what got
destroyed. The trees are gone. The little wood houses are all gone (a heap
of rubble) and 60% of the houses have no roof. The hillsides look literally
look like a garbage dump. There is sheet metal from what used to be roofing
wrapped around palm trees and telephne pole. Some roofing materials were
flung as far as 500m. It's estimated that 60,000 of the 100,000 residents
are basically without proper shelter.

Many of our friends lost their roofs and had to run from room to room during the storm. Others ran to neighbours' houses when the storm eye passed or ran to their cars where they had to huddle with their children for up to 15 hours. Some remained in their houses and barricaded themselves in with matresses and whatever large objects could protect them. The university did sustain damage to roofs and windows, but is surprisingly in tact. The island has no running water, no electricity, no
phone service.

The day after the storm, people flocked to town and Grand
Anse and began breaking into and looting businesses. They are stealing
everything: food, pharmaceuticals, TV's, computers--anything of any value.
Damaged houses are being looted. Our store was robbed and completely
emptied. Concerned tenants of the complex tried to stop them but without
putting their lives at risk or resorting to brutality, they could not keep
the thieves out. The prison was seriously damaged and the prisoners are on
the loose stealing cars from dealer showrooms and robbing businesses.
Shipments of food were coming into the port but there was no one organizing
its distribution so it got raided and was not distributed fairly.

The hospitals cannot keep up. They are turning away people with serious injuries
because they do not have space, oxygen, water, power, or supplies. People
are drinking and bathing in whatever water they can find, so disease and
sickness are imminent. Expats are fleeing en masse. Many local families are
evacuating their children to keep them safe. Someone attempted to steal our
car from a driveway the day following the hurricane. The army is trying to
keep order and there have been shootings. A friend of ours shot a looter
while defending his business. Another friend witnessed a man shoot a dog for
no reason and we've heard that people are attacking eachother with cutlasses
(machetes). The island is in chaos, especially St. George's. The residents
of our community are terrified of break ins and have organized night patrols
to secure the neighbourhood.

I was glad to hear she was back in Canada and safe. The whole situation is grim, however. The latest estimates say that 60,000 of the 90,000 inhabitants are homeless.

Thousands homeless, hungry, desperate

Officials estimate that as many as 60,000 of Grenada's 90,000 inhabitants were left homeless by Hurricane Ivan, which struck the tiny country Tuesday afternoon.

BY PABLO BACHELET

Shocked by the destruction of their once idyllic island by Hurricane Ivan, residents of Grenada on Saturday desperately sought food, water and candles to provide some comfort in their shattered lives.

''I'm trying to find some plastic to put over my roof so that water won't come in,'' said Antoine Sayers as he scoured the Spice Island Marina, where dozens of large sailboats stored on dry docks had been knocked off their cradles and lay on their sides like fallen dominoes.

Officials estimate that as many as 60,000 of the island's 90,000 inhabitants were left homeless by Ivan, which struck Tuesday afternoon, dealing a devastating blow to the tiny country that relies on tourism and nutmeg exports.

In the hardest-hit areas not one house looked intact to a Herald reporter and photographer who toured parts of the island briefly as a cargo jet delivering humanitarian aid from Miami was unloaded.

The cost of the damage could hit $600 million, said Patrick Antoine, Grenada's high commissioner to neighboring Trinidad.

26 DEATHS

''As we speak, Grenada has 26 confirmed casualties,'' he said in a conversation with officials from Diageo, a multinational corporation that arranged the relief flight. ``We are still counting the lost souls.''

Ivan's winds transformed Grenada from a lush, hilly Caribbean paradise to a grim and barren sight of wrecked houses and trees stripped of their leaves as if they had been scorched. Many palm trees were snapped by the 145 mph winds, leaving stick-like stumps in the ground.

Most of the looting that followed had subsided by Saturday as Grenada's 750-member-strong police force, reinforced by more than 100 troops flown in from Caribbean neighbors, took to the streets, giving St. George's some semblance of law and order.

Hmmm, at least the neighbours are helping out a little.