BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC—Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping, President Irfaan Ali of Guyana, Monday expressed his “deep concern and continued anxiety” over the passage of Hurricane Beryl, which caused widespread damage and destruction in Grenada and its sister isle of Carriacou as it made its way across the Windward Islands.
While Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines downgraded their hurricane warnings to tropical storm warnings and Jamaica has issued a hurricane warning, Grenada was yet to fully indicate the extent of the damage caused when the eye of the category four storm passed over Carriacou.
“As soon as it is safe to do so, I will journey to Carriacou to assess the damage and to give a full report to the nation,” Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said, adding that while the eye of the hurricane did not pass over Grenada “we are expected to have strong winds, storm surge and continued heavy precipitation for the next several hours.”
In his statement, President Ali said that initial reports have indicated “significant damage and destruction” to infrastructure and private property in some territories.
“As this weather phenomenon roars its way through the region, we must continue to brace ourselves against the effects of high winds, storm surges along sea coasts, and heavy rainfall.
“In light of these challenging times, I urge all citizens and the private sector of our region to coordinate closely with their respective governments and regional emergency response mechanisms in providing immediate support and relief to those affected by the hurricane,” Ali said.
He said that the Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is already working to mobilize and coordinate assistance and disaster relief even as the storm is still passing through the Windward Islands.
“This is a time for all of us as a regional community to stand together and extend our support to those impacted or likely to be impacted by Hurricane Beryl. Let us mobilize the necessary assistance and relief efforts in the true spirit of regional solidarity.
“Together, we can overcome the adversities posed by this hurricane and ensure the safety and well-being of all our peoples and communities,” Ali said in his statement.
In Barbados, where the hurricane ravaged the island’s fishing vessel industry, damaged several coastal assets, and left at least two coastal roads impassable, Prime Minister Mia Mottley urged Barbadians to give thanks as the situation could have been much worse.
Mottley said Beryl had sunk over 20 fishing vessels including the popular Jolly Roger and Dreamchaser party boats which both now sit at the bottom of the Harbour, and left several others with significant damages. But she said that it was still too early to tell how widespread the damage to the housing infrastructure is.
“So far, reports are of 40 homes with some damage, roof loss, partial collapse, or minimal like roof leaks. We expect that that number may increase because we have over 400 persons in shelters, and now the all-clear is given, some may return to their homes and find
She said Hurricane Beryl’s experience should be used as a foundation for the island’s efforts to become more resilient.
“This could have been far worse for us from the point of view that had we taken a direct hit or an even close hit, we now know how bad the level of devastation could have been,” Mottley said while speaking on the devastating impact the unprecedented weather system had on Grenada, Carriacou, Tobago, St Vincent, and the Grenadines.
St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre said that while the island was spared the worst, this is not the time for complacency.
“We are spared the worst for now, but there is no reason to be complacent. We have to continue to follow the protocols. We must continue to understand that these weather systems will be more frequent,” Pierre told reporters on Monday.
“True to weather experts’ predictions, the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane season, which officially began on June 1, is proving to be ‘hyperactive,” Prime Minister Pierre described the exceptionally early start as a serious situation requiring appropriate mitigation measures.
“You never know when our turn will come,” he added. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Beryl is moving over the southeastern Caribbean with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour (mph).
It is 125 miles northwest of Grenada, and the NHC said Beryl is moving toward the west-northwest at about 21 mph. “The center of Beryl will continue moving away from the southern Windward Islands tonight and quickly westward to west-northwestward during the next few days.
“On the forecast track, the center of Beryl will move across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea tonight through Tuesday and is forecast to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday,” it added.
“Beryl is a category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane Wind Scale. Fluctuations in strength are likely during the next day, but Beryl is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane as it moves over the eastern Caribbean.”
The NHC said some weakening is expected in the central Caribbean by midweek, though Beryl is forecast to remain a hurricane.
The NHC said hurricane conditions are possible in Jamaica by Wednesday and that tropical storm conditions will continue in the southern Windward Islands over the next few hours.
“Tropical storm conditions are expected in the warning area along the south coast of Hispaniola by late Tuesday,” the NHC said, noting that as it relates to storm surge, “water levels should recede into the evening over the southern Windward Islands.
“Storm surge could raise water levels by as much as two to four feet above normal tide levels in areas of onshore winds along the immediate coast of Jamaica.”
Hurricane Beryl is expected to produce rainfall totals of three to six inches across the Windward Islands through this evening.
and then  grouping, President Irfaan Ali of Guyana, Monday expressed his){kind=link}