Hurricane Beryl has claimed at least four lives, bringing “almost complete destruction” to several small and vulnerable Caribbean islands.
Initially classified as a Category 5 hurricane, Beryl has now weakened to a Category 4.
Despite the downgrade, the US National Hurricane Center warns that Beryl is still expected to deliver “devastating hurricane-force winds” and life-threatening storm surges to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
On Tuesday, the US National Hurricane Center reported that the eye of the storm was rapidly approaching southern Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season and the earliest storm on record to achieve the highest category, caused “utter devastation” in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).
Preliminary reports indicate that hundreds of buildings, including homes, schools, hospitals, and police stations, have been severely damaged or completely destroyed across these multi-island nations.
Approximately 90% of buildings on Union Island, part of SVG, have been impacted.
The hurricane also triggered a country-wide power outage and severely disrupted communication and transportation channels, complicating efforts to assess the full extent of the damage.
“The situation is grim,” Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell informed Grenadians, providing an update on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique early on Tuesday.
“There is no power, there is almost complete destruction of homes and buildings on the island.
The roads are not passable, and in many instances, they are cut off because of the large quantity of debris strewn all over the streets.”
He added, “In half an hour, Carriacou was flattened.”
Officials in the affected countries are currently evaluating the damage and seeking assistance from regional and international agencies.
On social media, Prime Minister Mitchell announced that the government was working to deliver relief supplies to both Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
He urged residents to “remain indoors,” stating that the state of emergency was still in effect.
In St Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves spoke about the “pain and suffering” experienced by the nations and commended the resilience of the Vincentian people.
He stated, “Hurricane Beryl has come and gone and has left in its wake immense destruction.
The faces of our men and women are strained and anxious.
But tomorrow, we get up with the conviction to rebuild our individual lives and our family’s lives.
To rebuild our country, to recover.”
Even as recovery efforts began, the country braced for another weather system.
The SVG National Emergency Management Organisation warned residents of an approaching tropical wave expected to bring heavy showers, gusty winds, and thunderstorms.
Grenada’s Attorney General, Claudette Joseph, informed reporters that the country was collaborating with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, the World Food Programme, and Samaritan’s Purse on relief and rebuilding efforts.
On Monday, Beryl tore through the southeastern Caribbean, ripping doors, windows, and roofs off homes after making landfall on Carriacou as the earliest Category 4 storm in Atlantic history, fueled by record warm waters.
From St Lucia south to Grenada, streets were littered with debris, including shoes, trees, and downed power lines.
Banana trees were snapped in half, and cows lay dead in pastures, with homes made of tin and plywood precariously tilted nearby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSP8RYqM3Q0
A hurricane warning remains in effect for Jamaica, while a hurricane watch is in place for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Haiti’s southern coast. Caricom, the regional intergovernmental organization, is holding an emergency meeting to discuss support for the islands impacted by Beryl.
Meteorologists attribute Beryl’s strength to record warm waters, which are unusually high for this time of year, primarily due to the global climate crisis driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
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