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Elizabeth Riley, executive officer of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), said the region is rallying support for islands hit hard by Hurricane Beryl.
She told an online press conference yesterday that the Category 4 hurricane which passed south of Barbados on Monday caused extensive damage to Union Island, Petite Martinique and Carriacou.
However, Riley could not confirm the death reports as damage assessment was in its early stages.
Caribbean Community governments meet to discuss how to respond Beryl, she noted, adding that the Barbados government has offered the Port of Bridgetown as a facility for the transshipment of relief supplies.
Trinidad and Tobago provided two fast ferries to the disaster-stricken areas for transportation, and several governments and international organizations, including the World Food Program and the Caribbean Development Bank, expressed their willingness to provide assistance to the disaster-stricken areas.
The island of Carriacou and its 12,600 inhabitants were reportedly completely affected by the hurricane, with damage to buildings and homes. Petite Martinique suffered 80% damage, and 98% of the buildings on Union Island were damaged by the storm.
The government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has appealed for cash donations, and Grenada has also provided a list of needs, Reilly said, adding that bank and other details would be made available on social media.
The CDEMA chief stressed the need to coordinate relief supplies and that, as far as Grenada is concerned, only items listed on the list would be accepted and delivered.
Riley said the Regional Security System (RSS) had responded and conducted an aerial assessment of the damage in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Residents of Union Island, one of the worst-hit islands, have been alerted to possibly evacuate to mainland St. Vincent.
Guyana will provide two planes to deliver relief supplies, Antigua and Barbuda will provide a range of relief items including water and ice, while St. Kitts and Nevis has also donated relief items, Riley reported.
“Support is gathering in the Caribbean. There have been no reports of any breakdown in law and order,” she said.
Riley added that challenges include short airport runways and some islands being accessible only by boat.
Meanwhile, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves Beryl At least one person was reported dead. The airport also sustained some damage. He said similar levels of damage were expected on the islands of Mayreau and Canouan.
He called on the business community to open their institutions and on residents of the St. Vincent community to help rebuild the country.
In St. George’s, Grenada has written to financial institutions and multilateral partners to trigger debt suspension clauses in several loan agreements as the country suffers Hurricane Beryl.
In 2022, Grenada’s national debt is estimated at $770 million.
“The finance minister has written to some of our multilateral partners to advise them that this catastrophic event has occurred and will trigger the debt suspension clauses in some of the agreements,” Irish Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell said at a news conference.
After Hurricane Ivan in 2004, then Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell advocated for and successfully had a debt moratorium included in all new loan agreements.
Mitchell said the devastation from the Beryl earthquake had a financial and social impact on the economy and significant resources were currently required.
He told reporters the cleanup alone would cost “tens of millions of dollars” and announced a nationwide cleanup effort would take place over the weekend.
The Prime Minister admitted that “rebuilding will be a huge task
Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique”.
“I want to stress that this hurricane has not only damaged infrastructure, it has also caused significant damage to the environment. We need to ensure that the loss and damage is accurately recorded and that we are able to quantify it as this has significant implications for Grenada’s economy, the government’s fiscal position and some of our contractual obligations, liabilities and benefits,” Mitchell added. (HH/PR/CMC)
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