People are in urgent need of food, water and shelter in the southeastern Caribbean nearly two weeks after Hurricane Beryl struck the region as a Category 4 storm, officials said, and are appealing for at least $9 million in aid from the international community.
Thousands of people in Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were left homeless by the storm, which killed at least seven people and destroyed schools, businesses and livelihoods across the archipelago.
“Together they form Beryl’s Armageddon,” said Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “Within a few hours, all the islands were destroyed.
“There is really nothing there. Housing, public facilities… the beach, fishing, tourist infrastructure, they are not really different,” he said during a press conference, his voice breaking.
Beryl became the first Category 4 hurricane on record in the Atlantic in June when it made landfall on Grenada’s Carriacou on July 1 and battered nearby islands.
Nearing Category 5 status, the storm knocked out power grids, damaged water systems and destroyed livestock and fishing gear that many of the poor communities on the affected islands depended on for their livelihoods.
“There is no economy,” said Deacon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada. “We have to feed people for the next six months.”
He noted that Beryl destroyed 90% of all buildings on several Grenada islands, including hospitals and airports. “We need funds now,” he said. “We deserve to survive.”
The United Nations has joined the call for help, saying $5 million of the $9 million requested would go to Grenada and the rest to St. Vincent and the Grenadines in a request to help 43,000 people.
Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, said Beryl “disrupted lives on a scale and brutality that is becoming increasingly common.”
Beryl became the first hurricane to record sustained winds of more than 63 mph in a 24-hour period. It grew from an unidentified depression to a Category 4 hurricane in 48 hours, with record-warm Atlantic waters a key factor in its intensification.
Scientists debate how climate change will affect hurricanes, but agree that they are likely to intensify more quickly.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a much larger-than-average 2024 hurricane season, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for about 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
The average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Koto writes for the Associated Press.
