Hurricane Beryl: Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines – Flash ...
This report covers the period 30 June to 01 July 2024. This report is not exhaustive, but it compiles the reported efforts of agencies in Barbados, Grenada and Saint Vincent and Grenadines to support the regional operation.
KEY MESSAGES
Beryl has become the strongest hurricane ever recorded in June, reaching major category 4 (in a scale of 5).
While the passage of Hurricane Beryl has not caused major infrastructural destruction in Barbados, it is estimated that 200k people, the equivalent of the entire populations of both Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, have been exposed and potentially affected by the impacts of the hurricane.
The Sub-regional UN response mechanism (UNETT) is in place and remains in close coordination with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) through the Regional Response Mechanism. The Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) is a network of CDEMA Participating States, and national, regional and international disaster stakeholders, through which external response and relief operations in support of an impacted CDEMA Participating State are coordinated.
CDEMA has been working on the composition of the multidisciplinary Rapid Needs Assessment Teams (RNAT) which will be deployed to most impacted areas, UN staff will join these teams.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on 1 July as a category 4, moving west-northwest at approximately 20 mph with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.
An estimated 200,000 people, representing 100 per cent of the population in both Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, have been affected by Hurricane Beryl. According to the International Federation of the Red Cross a total of 40 shelters have been opened in Grenada and 68 in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Several smaller islands such as Carriacou and Petit Martinique in Grenada, and five of the thirty-two Grenadines islands: Union Island, Bequia, Canouan, Palm Island, and Meru were also impacted.
The small size and dispersed nature of many of the affected islands present significant logistical challenges. Providing aid and conducting relief operations is complicated by the geographical spread and limited infrastructure. Many of the smaller islands have limited accessibility, which could adversely impact and delay the arrival of emergency supplies and aid workers. Transportation via air and sea will need to be carefully coordinated to ensure timely and efficient delivery of assistance.
