Latest July Storm reports and images
A storm caused widespread damage in Tristan's settlement in July 2019. This page reports on the damage and progress with repairs. See our Storm of July 2019 page for the full story.
Report and Photos from Chief Islander James Glass
Photo taken from Calshot Harbour shows the roof-damaged Fisheries Department Boathouse on the quay,
and, on the clifftop the Conservation Department Boathouse also with its roof largely removed.
Beyond to the right are two steel containers toppled on their sides illustrating vividly the strength of the wind on the night of 18th July. A top wind speed of 173km/h (107.5mph) was recorded that night. The anemometer itself failed before the storm reached its zenith.
All these photos were taken on 20th July 2019.
Photo taken from behind the Administration Building (still out of bounds) showing the roofing removed from above the Council Chamber and Administrator's Office. The lower ground floor (Far left) houses the Internet Café.
Snow can be seen lying at the top of Hottentot Gulch and the cliffs eastward. Over last weekend snow was seen lying on the 1961 volcanic cone and in Hottentot Gulch on the Settlement Plain. It may be the first time snow has been observed at this low altitude, but this needs to be verified.
James Glass joined other Heads of Department who are presently sharing the only available working computers in the Internet Café.
James thanks the Tristan Association for thinking of islanders in their time of need and establishing the new Emergency Fund. Summarising the event, James clarifies the considerable damage to the lower Settlement area where th scale of destruction to Government buildings far excceded that of the 2001 storm, but noting that noone was hurt and the fact that damage to island homes was less serious.
The most severely damaged island home belongs to Rodney Green and his family, who are currently overseas. Here the roof damage was caused by a fallen tree and a sheet of zinc from the school went through the kitchen window.
Shell of the PWD Storage Building
View of the Government Accommodation with the roof peeled back by the storm