Senior UN Official Says Carriacou Virtually ‘Flattened’ By Hurricane

UNITED NATIONS – A senior United Nations official has said that the island of Carriacou that is part of the tri-island nation of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique has been virtually “flattened” by the devastating Hurricane Beryl. 

As UN humanitarian teams ramp up their support for communities affected across the Caribbean, Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, outlined a scene of total devastation in Carriacou – where Beryl first made landfall on July 1. 

“The entire island is completely affected; that is literally 100 per cent of the population,” said Springett, speaking via video link from Grenada. 

Hurricane Beryl is the strongest hurricane in history to form in June in the Atlantic Ocean. 

Initially a tropical depression, it rapidly intensified into a Category 4 storm and briefly reached Category 5 status, with winds up to 240 km/h (150 mph), the UN said. 

On Friday morning (local time).  the UN said it made landfall in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and is reportedly tracking west-northwest, projected to make landfall in southern Texas, United States on Monday morning.

Springett highlighted the situation as a “very complicated crisis”, one that is marked by severe logistical and access challenges.  

He said that four days after the hurricane hit, roads on the island are impassable and communications were only restored Thursday night. 

“Directly after the hurricane, the seas were exceptionally rough, which made it nearly impossible to get there,” he said. “The air control towers are out – so there is only fly by visibility. But also, even when things get to the airport, there no roads to access the goods.”

Springett said nations near and far are dispatching aid, with a French ship arriving in Carriacou later on Friday, as well as assistance from Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. 

“We have a large outpouring of international response,” he said. “It is really an international effort, and the UN is really proud to be to be a part of this.” 

Also speaking, via video link from Bahamas, Dennis Zulu, the Resident Coordinator for Jamaica and Bahamas, echoed international collaboration. 

He highlighted that the UN is working in coordination with Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the regional emergency and disaster response agency to ensure a coherent regional response. 

“We are poised to mount a coordinated humanitarian response with the international development partner community and are already engaging international partners and organizations in Jamaica,” he said. 

Zulu said detailed assessment of damage in Jamaica and in other island nations supported by his office are ongoing. 

“The damage is widely apparent and is felt by people from all walks of life, especially in rural Jamaica, including in the southern parishes of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth, and for those in vulnerable housing,” he added. 

He also noted that the Government of Jamaica has put in place an effective response plan, supported by UN and partners, including shelters for those who lost their homes. 

According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over 650,000 people – including 150,000 children – in Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago were in the path of Hurricane Beryl. 

UNICIF said many have lost homes and are being housed in temporary shelters.

The UN agency said it had pre-positioned life-saving supplies before the storm, and is mobilizing supplies and funds for the response. 

“[We are] deeply concerned at the plight of those affected by Hurricane Beryl, especially the most vulnerable – children and women. We pledge to be there for children of the affected countries,” said Pieter Bult, UNICEF Representative for the Eastern Caribbean Area. 

Similarly, the UN said its World Food Program (WFP) has also deployed teams to the affected islands, supporting authorities with assessments and early response. 

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the agency said it has been asked to provide emergency telecommunications and logistics support, while in Barbados it is assisting with emergency food kits that will be shipped and distributed to people in the affected islands.

Earlier on Friday, in Geneva, Switzerland, Vanessa Huguenin, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that while humanitarians have been preparing for this hurricane season, “such a strong storm this early is extremely rare.” 

“It is also a warning for the anticipated very intense hurricane season that is coming,” she said at the regular media briefing at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG). 

The UN said the Atlantic storm season runs from June through the end of November, with 17 to 25 named storms expected. It said the average is 14 storms a year. 

Of those, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that eight to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes – above the average of seven – including four to seven major hurricanes.

The UN said a major hurricane is category three, four or five on the Saffir Simpson scale, with winds of 110 mph winds (177 km/h), or higher. 

“This new reality of unprecedented hurricanes is becoming an annual and ever-present reality for the Caribbean countries while facing the brunt of climate change,” said Rhea Pierre, disaster manager at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). 

“The severity of damages in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl are tangible and devastating,” she said.