(Trinidad Guardian) Winds reaching over 150 miles per hour tore through Grenada’s Carriacou Island as Hurricane Beryl made landfall.
During a media briefing yesterday, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell stated that the hurricane had flattened Carriacou within half an hour and that they could not confirm any loss of life.
“The expectation is that the damage in Carriacou and Petite Martinique is going to be extreme. Prime Minister Mitchell said the situation on the island was bleak. “We have reports of extensive storm surge, extensive loss of roof and damage to buildings, there is no electricity on any of the islands, and communication is also difficult.”
He noted that among the many buildings damaged by the passage of the hurricane were the island’s central police station as well as a hospital.
The minister for Carriacou and Martinique Affairs, Tevin Andrews, said they would quickly transition into damage assessment, recovery and stabilisation mode.
During an interview from St David, Grenada, with Guardian Media, independent journalist Mickey Hutchinson explained that the aftermath of the hurricane could be on the same scale as Hurricane Ivan, which flattened the island 20 years ago.
“We expect it to be bad,” he said.
Hutchinson said citizens were adhering to the alerts and warnings. “Grenadians are fighting back against Beryl, heeding the call from the Government to stay indoors where they can.”
Over 3,000 persons have used hurricane shelters.
Mitchell said he instructed the housing authority to make immediate housing available to citizens of Carriacou and Petite Martinique without a roof over their heads.
Large waves battered coastal areas of Barbados during the early morning hours, with officials reporting extreme damage in some areas despite not getting a direct hit. It was confirmed that both the Jolly Roger and MV Dreamchaser sank and several fishing vessels were also lost.
Speaking with fisherfolk at the Bridgetown fishing complex, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said, “There is too much damage and too much debris that can cause somebody to end up in the casualty. Nobody who has no business out there should be out there.”
Roofs were blown off, buildings were heavily damaged and electricity and communications were cut off in some areas. Almost 20,000 customers lost power, which was eventually restored. Grantley Adams International Airport officials said teams were conducting thorough assessments to ensure the facility was safe for all travellers and staff. By the afternoon period, a hurricane warning for the island was eventually discontinued.
A nationwide shutdown was declared in St Vincent and the Grenadines, with Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves ordering the evacuation of citizens living in low-lying communities.
According to the St Vincent Times, the island had sustained significant structural damage. Numerous homes lost their roofs in neighbourhoods like Cane Garden, Sion Hill, Layou, Lowmans Leeward, Frenches, and Dorsetshire Hill.
More than 1,100 people, according to the National Emergency Management Organisation, were staying in government shelters as of Monday morning.
After bracing for the worst, St Lucia’s Prime Minister Phillip Pierre said the country had been spared.
Phillip called on St Lucians to rally around those from neighbouring islands who would have been adversely impacted by Hurricane Beryl. During a Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency meeting on Sunday, regional and international partners pledged their willingness to assist affected states. The Caricom Private Sector Organization (CPSO) also met on Monday to begin mobilising resources to assist member states.
The meeting was chaired by CPSO Executive Committee Member, Dr Thackwray Driver, who stated that support must be informed by a needs list.
Grenada PM: Carriacou ‘flattened’ by Hurricane Beryl
(Trinidad Guardian) Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell has said that the island of Carriacou had been “flattened” in just half an hour and that government officials also expected “extreme” damage on the neighbouring island of Petite Martinique.
The islands were badly hit by Beryl, a powerful Category 4 hurricane that began sweeping through the eastern Caribbean Islands on Monday, making a devastating landfall on Carriacou, a small island north of Grenada.
The force of Hurricane Beryl — the first of this year’s season — left a trail of destruction in its path as it made landfall: trees snapped in half, extensive storm surge and roofs blown off as winds reached more than 150 miles per hour.
There was no power on any of the islands and communication was difficult, officials said.
Mitchell said that the complete scale of the damage on Carriacou and Petite Martinique would not be clear until Monday evening, adding that he would travel to Carriacou as soon as it was safe to do so.
“There was devastation all around,” the prime minister said. “We therefore expect that we will have to quickly transition into damage assessment and recovery and stabilization mode.”
