Flood waters in the Grand Cayman are receding

Jennifer Dilbert, the Cayman Islands representative in the United Kingdom, told BBC Caribbean Radio that the clearing process is well underway.

"The water is beginning to abate at this point, the roads are being cleared and you can now drive from West Bay into Georgetown," she said. "They're working on the roads going from Georgetown into the other districts and all districts have been contacted."

She was unable to provide figures for the number of houses destroyed, or the number of people affected but said a large percentage of buildings were damaged and people were moving out of their homes into shelters.

"New shelters are being opened and more schools are being commissioned as shelters, so we can get water and food to people," she said. "The people going into the new shelters are those who rode out the storm in their houses, but those houses are now really uninhabitable."

Banks re-open

The Cayman Island authorities have said there have been no reported casualties thus far, but that many people "remain unaccounted for".

Islanders are being assisted by 80 officers and men from HMS Richmond who were deployed on Grand Cayman on Tuesday morning to assist with security and other pressing matters.

A curfew has been in force since Monday which requires residents to remain in their homes or shelters from 6.00pm to 6.00am.

Governor Bruce Dinwiddy was quoted in the Cayman Net News online newspaper as saying that the financial sector will re-open by Monday.

Officers from the HMS Richmond have been assisting with the recovery effort

"The infrastructure of the financial sector is mostly intact, including records and data.

"Several retail banks are planning to open early next week, once we bring power back in George Town, which is expected to be by the end of this week," the Governor said.

Support and regulatory agencies, such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and the Companies Registry will be back in operation by Monday.

Cayman Netnews has also reported that local supermarkets are busily engaged in a process of repair and cleaning flooded facilities. Most supermarkets are expected to re-open by mid-week.

The Owen Roberts International Airport is open on a limited basis and priority is being given to medical evacuees, relief planes and flights that may be scheduled to bring in returning residents.

On Tuesday evening around 29 patients (mainly dialysis patients) were taken to Miami where their medical care will be continued.