] Grand Cayman was submerged in a 15- to 20-foot tidal
] surge as the storm passed yesterday. The island was for a
] time split into two, as the ocean swept across the west
] coast at Seven Mile Beach
 . . .
] . . . power and telephone service remains out, and
] more than half the island's buildings lost their roofs as
] the hurricane swept through.
 . . .
] The winds of the Category 5 hurricane ripped homes apart
] like ``matchsticks,''
  . . .
] Cars and trucks floated away like toys during the storm
] surge

I've been to the Caymans. It's a tiny tiny country, like a Gilligan's Island with less jungle -- just tiny towns of shops and banks. It had no mountains that I recall -- nearly everything is beach, or damn close to a beach. The entire country is smaller in area than New York City. It's easy to see how a massive hurricane would just charge through and flood *everything*. A big wave washing over the entire island.

Ouch.