The Salvation Army is appealing for mattresses, food and water as part of a drive to help Caribbean islands stricken by Hurricane Ivan.

The charity raised $2,000 for Jamaica and Grenada from a spontaneous collection at a service on Sunday and it says the public have been equally generous since the appeal began yesterday.

Ivan has killed 68 people including at least 15 people in Jamaica and 39 in Grenada in a deadly sweep across the region.

Major Lindsay Rowe said: "We started this appeal at noon today and people have called throughout wanting to donate mattresses and money. The response has been overwhelming."

Maj. Rowe spent four years stationed in the heart of Kingston, Jamaica, and recalled the desperate problems Hurricane Gilbert caused for the country in 1988, problems which appeared destined to be repeated today.

He said: "Mattresses are desperately needed with all the roofs damaged.

"When I was there in Gilbert, mattresses were one of the more pressing needs. We could not get enough of them.

"We had trucks going out all the time delivering them but there was a still a much greater need than we were able to meet."

He said fresh water was also desperately needed after storm surges contaminated the supply.

Cleaning supplies, tarps, portable stoves, canned food, personal hygiene items, baby food and flashlights and batteries are all crucial supplies which will be needed in the area as the clean-up efforts begin, he added.

Maj. Rowe said the Salvation Army had dozens of churches, centres and staff in Grenada and Jamaica.

But he said security had been a problem after Gilbert around as looters took advantage of the situation.

He said: "People would not leave places".

He recalled having to physically pick up elderly people and put them in vans after promising to help get them back into their homes if they were taken over by intruders.

"There were people lost in the storm who knew they were in danger but knew if they left they would not have anything to come back to. It was a serious problem.

"When I went there in the 1980s, there was an incredible amount of looting going on."

He feared for remote villages. "They don't have the infrastructure that we have. They're facing devastation at this point in both Jamaica and Grenada."

He said the Salvation Army's relief operation in Grenada is headed by Jonathan Kellman who worked in Bermuda for five years before leaving last year.

Water, tools, diapers, sanitary towels were the priority for that island where the relief workers were having to sleep in damaged buildings and tents because of the devastation, said Maj. Rowe.

There was still no word about whether the Bermuda Regiment will be sent to help while Belco and Government also said they had yet to get a specific request for help.

Butterfield Bank has a strong presence in the Cayman Islands with around 250 employees.

The bank flew in a plane which picked up a small number of people who were relocated to other offices to keep the operation running, with one person going to a software vendor in Boston.

Yesterday, the bank was trying to assess the damage and ensure employees were safe.

The head office lost part of its roof but, along with the bank's other branch in the capital, weathered the storm, said Butterfield Bank's holding company chief executive officer Alan Thompson.

"We have been closely monitoring Hurricane Ivan, and from a business perspective we were prepared.

"It is too early to know how all our locations have fared, with many roads impassable and communications still intermittent.

"However, our concerns remain for the residents of Cayman and especially our employees and their families. This has been a devastating storm and it will take a few days before the true extent of the damage will be known.

"For any of our Cayman clients who need us, we are able to service them from our other locations until we are able to open for business again," Mr. Thompson said.

"Our business continuity plans were activated ahead of time to ensure there will be minimal business disruption."

Cable and Wireless have a multimillion dollar network in the Caymans but Bermuda general manager Eddie Saints said getting information about the damage was difficult as communications and power were down.

He said reports from Internet news services painted a worrying picture of devastation although he said the Cable and Wirelesses local mobile service was still working to a limited degree.

Linesmen will be sent from neighbouring Caribbean countries to help get the network back up, said Mr. Saints.

He added that Bermuda Telephone Company had offered their help, just as Cable and Wireless had sent crews after Fabian.

"We greatly appreciate that, everyone is helping in a time of need."

The public are invited to bring their donations to the Salvation Army Divisional HQ on 10 North Street (second floor) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.