Yes it is raining terribly on Bonaire, at the moment, The radio said about 108mm's (>4 inches)only this morning, raining several days already, many streets are blocked, and huge amounts of mud/soil going into the sea. I think the corals will not be happy with that too.
I tried to make some pictures, they are not too good, my normal camera is broken, some days ago, but it gives an idea.

Most of the streets are really full with water

this car drives on the street in front of Cultimara

The fields around the airport, normally completely dry...

just a garden, somewhere in Belnem.

more to follow

Part 2.

Is this what we call "Sunny side up"?


On the parkinglot, in front of Cultimara


The street along Exito, Movieland Videorentals and the cinema was blocked.


Children, free from school, were playing on the streets with surfboards

more to come

Harry, WOW....this is more water than what Ivan brought in! Yikes! Look forward to more!

Part 3.


Lots of fun on the big rivers we normally call "streets".


The Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot was blocked, because of huge amounts of water flooding into the sea.


Getting from citycenter to Hato took a long time, because of all the blocked roads, picture taken at the Harbour.


Some good news. Rain has stopped now, at least in Hato, even the sun tries to come back. I hope the people on Bonaire didn't suffer too much because the water running in and out of their homes. Also I hope the coral didn't suffer too much.
Let's hope we've had enough rain for this year!

Harrie

Part 3.


Lots of fun on the big rivers we normally call "streets".


The Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot was blocked, because of huge amounts of water flooding into the sea.


Getting from citycenter to Hato took a long time, because of all the blocked roads, picture taken at the Harbour.


Another picture taken near the Harbour.


Some good news. Rain has stopped now, at least in Hato, even the sun tries to come back. I hope the people on Bonaire didn't suffer too much because the water running in and out of their homes. Also I hope the coral didn't suffer too much.
Let's hope we've had enough rain for this year!

Harrie

Wow..Hattie, Thanks for posting these photos.
It's a lot worse than what I was imagining. This should take a long while to dry out.

Harrie,
Thanks so much for taking the time to post the pictures for us. Now I can see why they called no school for the kids!I sure do hope the rains stop and all returns to normal for everyone. I wonder how many years it has been since Bonaire saw this much rain, if ever??

Darlene,

according to a comment on the radio, there hasn't been so much rain on Bonaire for 60 years!!

For what it is worth of course....

There is also a lot of discussion upon the changes manhood made to the island. A lot of the natural sand-dikes have been used for building-purposes, people are building on places where it is not safe to do so. They will pay a price now....

Harrie

oh, landslides Harrie, yikes!

Harrie,

My hubby is on Bonaire right now and I appreciate you posting these pictures, I can get an idea of what he is going through. I can say, I have never seen so much rain on Bonaire. Well, hubby may have to snorkel to get to the airport Thursday! I hope the rain goes away, far away.

Harrie, thanks so much for posting these pictures. I think no one outside of Bonaire could have possibly imagined that the situation was that bad. Let's hope the worst is over.
Margarita

Harry, thank you for posting the pictures.
From the webcam I understood that the weather was bad. But yr pictures show much better how bad it really is.
Lets hope the worst is over and that the water will disappear shortly and that the island wont be crowded by mosquitoes.

Maybe a good time to consider a major spray.....please, before I get there in March.

Bon Nochi,

At 10 am today our rain gauge showed over 7 inches of rain in the previous 24 hours! This was just after the height of the storm, during a lull. All told, this storm dumped 8.5 inches on us in about 30 hours.

I took my underwater housed camcorder out and recorded some video starting at the Sabadeco pier and wandering around the Courts neighborhood.

It seems that all of Courts and Terrace drained directly onto the Sabadeco Pier--carving us a new river in the process--an amazing amount of silt ended up in the ocean...looked like chocolate milk.

Here is a brief video of the spectacle:

• Sabadeco Flood
• Windows Media File
• 320x240
• 6:16
• 10.2 MB

Pasa Bon got an unexpected night off as Joe wades through the dining room

and the road in front of Harbor Village

Susan, my mouth is agape!

and around the corner from Cultimara

last, the stadium next to the post office

Susan, just unbelievable!

Clearing the storm drains on the water road in front of Blue Moon

Wind is finally coming in the right direction. Maybe tomorrow we will all start to dry out....

OMG!!! Roger, your video is unbelievable! Harrie, your pictures are incredible. How is Hato? Could you take a drive around our Inn? It is back on Kaya Utrecht. Could you possibly take a couple of pictures? I'm going in for brain surgery soon and I want to see what I am up against before I go in. Oh my goodness. Thanks so much. I really didn't need another thing to worry about, but God won't give us what we can't handle, right?

Liz

Oops, Susan, your pictures too! I'm so afraid about our Inn, I hope everything is ok!

Liz

Roger, that is frightening! I hope there is not too much damage and destruction to the reef and the waters surrounding Bonaire, in general.

With all the development in the Sabadeco/Santa Barbara area (as well as other areas of Bonaire) it is not surprising to see such flooding, however. I hope there are not too many pestisides and poisons and toxins from the landscaping and buildings which might directly affect the reef and the marine life receivng all of the runoff waters.

Again, I hope no one suffered too much in property damage and/or injury. I did notice some road damage and curbing, etc. tho. I also hope the waters and its inhabitants will not suffer indirect damage(s), too.

Can you imagine if that were snow? I believe it is one foot for every inch of rain.....eight feet of snow!? What a horrible thought! LOL.

Thanks for the photos, Harrie and everyone. I hope it dries out very soon. Ayo. Carole

OMG! I had no idea it was this bad. I was only kidding when I posted in an earlier thread that my hubby might have to snorkel to the airport tommorrow! He really might! Thank you, Susan,
Rodger and Harrie for posting the video and pictures for us. I would have never thought this kind of rain could happen on Bonaire! Hope the sun will come out soon and glad to hear the wind has changed back to normal. My heart goes out to all those affected by this rain!

Harrie, Roger and Susan..thanks for posting....what a surprise to see those familiar spots under water...looks like Bonaire could be in danger of being a rain forest soon! Hope you all dry out soon!

OMG! Harrie, Roger and Susan, WOW -- pictures ARE worth a thousand words... Good job getting those images and sharing them here. I really feel for everyone having to cope and make repairs.

Almost unbelievable!

If you want to see what is causing all the rain, go to http://www.weather.com/maps/geography/oceans/caribbeansatellite_large.html and click on the 'Show Map in Motion' link on the bottom left of the image. This is a good page for Bonaire weather always.

Wow! Thank-you for posting! I hope everyone is OK on Bonaire. I wish for the rain to go away!

Harrie. great photos .....more rain for today and for the next 3 0r 4 days.check the weather report. any damage on the Washington National park ?

also www.meteo.an double click on radar image in upper left hand corner for a 4 hour loop

We just feel a bit saturated

Roger !Amazing video.....Looks like a severe tropical storm....!

Here's a pic showing the silty water around the
.

Liz,
I've sent you some pictures I took this morning around the inn
\image(Golden Reef Inn}
You've got a small lake in the back (away from the structure), but the building and yards look just fine.

Oops, meant to attach this:

Has anyone been able to get in the water and see how the fish and coral are doing?

Another thought: What about the salt mountains down south - are they there still, or have they returned to the sea?

Roger, where was the "silty water" picture taken? That's just amazing !!

Kelly, pic taken from our porch looking towards the Sabadeco Pier.

Roger, that you very much for the video. Gives a very good impression on whats happening on Bonaire.
Liked yr website too. Nice video's. Bookmarked it for future use.
I hope I will be able to come to Bonaire next year and have my video taken by you.

Roger,

Thanks so much! At least now we will know how to grade the yard! Also looks like we will need the landscaper again..stuff is growing wildly since the rains!

Thanks!

Liz

I will never complain again about the rain here in Holland! Hope everybody on Bonaire is fine.

Angela

Liz, situation in Hato is quite good, I saw you got your pics of the Inn, so I will not take some,
BTW, this morning it has been raining very much again, but not so bad as yesterday, on several places Antriol and Nikiboko the water hadn't been gone, so these people will be in trouble again.
It is supposed to be as bad as it is now, for the coming three days...

Harrie

How are the salt pans, salt deposits and the salt pier area and the slave huts doing. Being so low I imagine it is flooded. Also what about the Belnam area, haven't seen any pictures from down south. Thanks for any info. Andy

Roger...just looked at your video...my mouth was agape the entire time...one thought...I wonder how Marina and the Donkey's are fairing...as well as all of the marine life, with all of the sediment washing into the ocean, and it's fresh water, it will certainly change salinity and ph levels for a period, bring in bacteria, etc. I'm no marine biologist, but I hope this doesn't do a lot of harm to our underwater friends... sigh...I am just sick...sick sick sick...

Cynde, I bet Marina is rained in. Remember how bad the road was that day we tried to go see her? And that was only a short time of raining... I bet she can't get out. Anyone have any information about this?

How about the runway at Flamingo?? Flooding is not good for fast moving a/c; they tend to aquaplane. And fast moving water undermines hard surfaces like runways. Unsupported runway sections are not good. Fingers crossed!!

Have air connections been interrupted by the rain??

Those low spots in the road to Marina's must be pools-- the 'road closers' I would guess.

Is the lack of decking on the Sabadeco pier from Ivan??

Here in Belnem, at least around our house, we're fine. We haven't ventured far from home either, though.

The ground is seriously water logged, and low lying property is lake-like. We have friends with a house in Lima - next neighborhood over from Belnem who have a 18 inch moat around their entire house right now, because their lot is below street level. Fortunately the house is up about 3 feet from there, so it's dry - had to build a bridge of pallets across the shallowest part for them yesterday.

We apparently have been getting less rain than parts north of Kralendijk - they had almost 30 hours of rain non-stop in Sabadeco and Republiek, while we had far less here in Belnem.

There still wasn't school today, and we're not sure about tomorrow (although it seems unlikely).

I want my sunshine back!

Jake

PS I would not be surprised if Marina is land-locked right now at the donkey sanctuary. But she's got ample land for the donkeys, so they and she should be fine.

Hi Glen,

The airlines are running on time as far as I know. Hubby was due to leave Bonaire on AJ today and they told me that no delays. Will let you know if he doesn't show up tonight.

Hubby will be late getting home as incoming Air Jamaica flight didn't come in. AJ rerouted their flight from Curacao to pick up Bonaire passengers and take them to Montego Bay. This still hadn't happened when I left the airport at 4:40 (after going to pick up family on incoming AJ66). Flight to Bonaire is supposed to be here tomorrow at 3:30. Yes, they are siphoning water off the catch basins around the runways as it was getting a little to close for comfort. Pumps are working to empty those basins into the Plaza side lagoon. According to www.meteo.an rains are supposed to let up by tomorrow afternoon. Here's hoping.

Wow, looks like I barely made it out! Not that an extra few days in Bonaire would be a bad thing, but I sure wouldn't have gotten any diving in with the vis measured in millimeters. I saw some of the brown ocean as we lifted off, and knew it was gonna be ugly down there for quite a while.

Here's what it looked like at Eden 4 days ago, 12 feet down (I can only imagine it's pure mud, now):

Rrrrrr.

The good news is that this is a '50 year' storm. They have happened before and we have the Bonaire we love, so the world will not end here!!! Just a bit different.

Also, it would be interesting to see how the fresh and salt water are 'layering'. The vis at some depth may not be as bad as it looks at the surface. Anyone down there up to a science dive or two???

Does anybody knows how´s the Washington National Park after the flood ? road conditions......

Roger, Harrie and Susan,
Thank you for the photos and video. They tell the story better than any words.
Jack

On thursday we were on the airport, the road in front of the airport was blocked, because they were pumping water from the runway into the sea, probably to get the runway free of water.

The airplanes actually didn't have much delay up to now, as far as I could see, KLM was as good as on time, Bonairexell as perfect as always, and Air Jamaica did something strange with a plane that came from Montego Bay, they returned back to Montego Bay, but through the intercom they promised to solve the problems by taking people through Curacao. Only Divi Divi had quite some problems.
Curacao is also very wet, but Bonaire is absolutely worse.

Jake be sure, on your side of the island a lot less water has been coming down then on Hato.
I've seen the situation in Belnem, Kralendijk and Hato. No doubt!

I tried to phone the Washington National Park, but couldn't get connected, but I am sure the park is closed for visitors, at least the long tour. It was already closed weeks ago, when there was just a little bit of water. No idea if there is severe damage for the longer time.
I am also wondering do these mudflows influence the underwaterlife very much? I saw the question before here, but still didn't find an answer. Does someone know the answer?

I'm sorry guys (and girls), I will not be in the possibility to make more pics shortly, perhaps someone else can do, and keep us informed?

Harrie

Thanks for all of your informative postings Harrie, we do appreciate them.

Thank you, Harrie. I was wondering the same thing, myself, about the possibility of the water runoff affecting the marine life. I hope it will not destroy anything or cause harm. Carol

Thanks for the inside scoop, Harrie!