Windward Islands Devastated by Category 4 Hurricane Beryl

As Belize closely monitors Hurricane Beryl, the Windward Islands are reeling from the impact of the catastrophic storm. The category four storm made landfall on Grenada’s Carriacou Island today and brought torrential rains and sustained winds of 150 mph to Grenada and the south of St. Vincent and Grenadines. The storm wreaked havoc on the island nations as gale-force winds ripped rooftops and storm surges remain a threat to the coastal communities. Love News spoke to Caribbean Journalist and owner of the online news outlet, One News SVG, Demion McTair, about the storm’s impact on St. Vincent and Grenadines. 

Demion McNair, Journalist and Owner of One SVG: “There is not a single zone in the country that has been left untouched by Beryl’s wrath. What we have been seeing for the most part, a lot of roofs, of houses and public buildings have been blown off completely and these are widespread reports from throughout the country. We’ve also been seeing some storm surges threatening coastal communities, residents of coastal communities, especially on the eastern end of mainland St. Vincent. Now St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a multi-island state. We have 32 islands and cayes. And where the eye of Beryl passed is where we call the Southern Grenadines, somewhere near Union Island which is one of the last islands in the archipelago. The damage has been catastrophic in that area. In Canouan for instance there was a heartbreaking story where a lady contacted us saying she’s taking cover in her bathroom and when we tried to find out why, she said her roof is gone, her neighbor’s roof is gone, she doesn’t know where to go because the winds are too strong to come out, she cannot get to the shelter and that is not an isolated report. Other people who had connection, data connection that we were able to make connection with had more or less the same stories. They don’t know where to go because you run to the neighbor, the neighbor’s roof is gone. The shelter is too far away and the winds are too strong to take the risk. We have a lot of visitors in the country, hopefully they’re safe. We’ll have to, the post disaster reporting will have to be very comprehensive. We have a lot of ground to cover because the damage is, the storm is happening right now and the damage is already unthinkable based on the reports that we have been getting from very credible sources. So I anticipate there might be a need for some humanitarian assistance and I would urge our regional partners to stay tuned and to also prepare. If you know this storm is coming, it’s on a trajectory to come to your country. Please learn from our lesson and prepare for this storm.”

Latest data from St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Emergency Management stated that a total of 1,032 persons are in 41 emergency shelters across the nation.