In Memory of the Great Storm of 1932

The grief of November 7th is written in stone on the collective consciousness of the Caymanian people. It was on that day in 1932 that the outstanding violence and destruction of 'Hurricane #10' left its indelible mark on our lives. One hundred and nine local people died as a result of its brutal attack on the three islands but it was Cayman Brac that suffered the full brunt of what has come to be known as the 'Great Storm'. Its people were left to mourn their dead and pick up the pieces of a broken community. One of the most poignant memorials testifying to the savage nature of the storm is a simple ring of stones placed by grieving families on a mass grave site. It was the only way for them to honour their dead during this time of immeasurable pain and hardship.

Hurricane #10 developed Northeast of Barbados on October 31st and began its perilous journey towards the Cayman Islands, cruelly doubling back on itself to hit Grand Cayman with devastating consequences on the evening of November 7th, 1932. Packing winds of approximately 150-200 miles per hour, the Category 4 hurricane wreaked havoc, finally hitting Cayman Brac on the evening of the following day. Local residents have estimated the storm surge to be in the region of 32 feet.

The newly built, two storey Grant home was the scene of huge destruction and loss of life. It was totally destroyed and along with it, 19 people perished. Survivor, Eleanor Grant Bodden recalled thinking, "Oh my God, the sea has met the sky". Her heart wrenching account of the battle for her life and the lives of those around her is a tribute to the strength of the human character. She tells of being trapped under wood and water, breathing life back into her eight-month-old niece as she watched the baby's mother disappear forever under the debris and her desperate struggle to get to the safety of the Bluff.

It was once the storm had passed, however, that another ordeal began for the survivors: the agonising task of burying their dead. In an area known as The Point, at the West end of the Brac on the North Side, lie the remains of the friends and family of Eleanor Grant Bodden. The nineteen people who were killed as they took shelter in the Grant home were buried in this mass gravesite. Circumstances dictated that instead of grave markers or names, their final resting-place be marked by a simple ring of stones - a family's desperate attempt to honour their dead in a time of immense hardship and heartache. Another two similar graves are located in close proximity to the Mass Gravesite. It is unknown who lies buried in these smaller graves, but like the Mass Gravesite, rings of stones mark the graves.

While it may have given family members much distress to bury their loved ones in such an unrefined fashion, the gravesite serves as a living memorial, not only to the 19 who perished in the Grant house, but to all our beloved Caymanians who died in the frightful hurricane of November, 1932.

Today the Mass Gravesite is a moving reminder of a significant moment in Cayman's history. Anyone unaware of its existence may very well overlook it, as it lies indiscernible amongst the heavy vegetation of the area. But it is a silent messenger, warning us of the devastation nature can wreak when infuriated. The ring of stones begs the question: are we listening?

Colonel Ernest Arthur Weston, Commissioner of the Cayman Islands at the time, provided the following report of the hurricane:

The hurricane of 1932 was of outstanding violence and the destruction of statistics and other returns rendered the preparation of the Annual Report for that year impracticable. This hurricane resulted in the loss of 109 lives and the almost total demolition of houses on Cayman Brac. It began at 6 a.m. on Monday, 7th November, and lasted for 52 hours. The velocity of the wind was estimated at 150-200 miles per hour, but a worse feature was the heavy sea that accompanied it.

'The houses on the Brac were mostly on a ridge close to the sea. Behind them was a shallow valley leading to the precipitous cliffs which stretch throughout the length of the Island. This valley soon filled with sea-water, and itself became a stretch of raging water. Thus the people were cut off from their sole chance of safety. That night, the tempestuous sea and the terrific wind made escape almost impossible, and it is difficult to imagine the terror of that time.

Even when daylight came and the hurricane had abated, the sufferings of the people were not lessened. There was no means of communication by which relief could be called for; the injured and dead remained unattended; roads and pathways had disappeared beneath the piled up mass of broken coral, rendering the whole a chaos of wreckage and coral boulders, most difficult to traverse.

Eventually, after three days, relief came; H.M.S. Dragon, the S.S. Loch Quatrain, the S.S. Husvic, and the M.S. Nunoca and the M.S. Cimboco arrived with medical assistance and stores, and what was even more urgently required, fresh water, for the sea had broken every cistern and tank and fouled the springs and wells. At the end of 1933, Cayman Brac was just recovering from the results of this visitation. Little Cayman fortunately suffered less from the seas, but practically every house was destroyed.'

(Source: Colonial Reports No. 1702 Cayman Islands (Jamaica) 1933)

Last Updated: 23 Nov 2011