NRA and partners working to address flooding

GRAND CAYMAN (GIS) – The National Roads Authority (NRA) would like to reassure road-users the Authority is working hard to address issues caused by the inclement weather on Tuesday, 25 June 2019.

            Together with private sector partners, the NRA is tackling the areas most affected, specifically those in the low-lying areas of Grand Cayman. 

            The NRA would like to remind motorists to be vigilant while on the roads and to be alert and courteous to other drivers, as well as pedestrians and cyclists using the roads.

Statement from CIAA re- flooding incident at Owen Roberts International Airport

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (26 June 2019) The Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA), which owns and operates the Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) and the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport (CKIA), issued a statement today regarding the flooding incident that occurred at the airport on Tuesday, 25 June 2019.

The incident occurred during a period of heavy rainfall at approximately 2:00 p.m., at which time this extreme weather event overwhelmed the airport’s 220,000 gallon water cistern used primarily for fire protection and irrigation. The cistern is supplied by rain harvesting through roof drains, which is one part of the Authority’s sustainability efforts at ORIA.

The cistern was near capacity prior to the heavy rainfall, which in turn caused an overflow of water into a deep well. This quickly reached capacity by the excessive rainfall, eventually exceeding the capacity of the cistern and ultimately causing the flooding in the terminal. The flooding was not a result of any roof leaks or water ingress under doors.

At no time was there more than one inch of water in the terminal.  The main affected areas were a portion of the departure hall and utility rooms. Crews were mobilized immediately to mitigate the cistern levels by using ancillary pumping equipment and to address the flooding clean up.

An airport action team has been mobilized as an incident response to identify the flooding causes and solutions. Mitigation measures are being put in place to ensure it does not happen again. The Authority considers this a priority due to seasonal weather patterns that we are currently experiencing.