St. Kitts-Nevis PM Says Hurricane Beryl Underscores Impact of Climate Change
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, says hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 storm ever to form in the Atlantic, is a stark reminder of the existential threat of climate change, particularly to small island states.
Hurricane Beryl destruction in Carriacou (CDEMA Photo)The storm, which approached Jamaica with winds in excess of 140 miles per hour (MPH) on Wednesday, has been blamed for several deaths and destruction in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines earlier this week.
Prime Minister Drew, addressing this month’s edition of “Roundtable” expressed his sadness and sympathy to those Caribbean countries so far affected by the hurricane.
“This is one of the things I’ve been talking about since coming to office, that we face an existential threat and that threat is the climate crisis. This year we are seeing a record with a Category 5 hurricane in the month of June and this has occurred because the temperatures of the seas are high.
“The temperatures we are seeing now are the temperatures normally seen sometime in August/September but we are seeing it now in the very early part of the hurricane season and that means that we are in for a rough ride in 2024,” Prime Minister Drew told reporters.
He said that the unfortunate situation of worsening climatic conditions and their associated negative impact on lives and livelihoods further strengthens the government’s resolve to transform the twin island Federation into a sustainable island state, one that would be more resilient to the increasingly intense disasters.
He said this also underscores the urgency for St. Kitts-Nevis to construct a new climate-smart hospital and climate-smart homes.
“With these storms that would be coming through the region, if it is one facility or institution that should remain standing it should be a hospital. When I hear reports that the hospitals in the Grenadines are basically destroyed and people don’t know what has happened to the patients there, it is frightening.
“When you hear 90 plus percent of the houses and buildings were damaged and the islands are basically uninhabitable at this time, it tells us that the climate crisis is real and it is really an existential threat and we must act.”
Prime Minister Drew said that the government’s sustainable island state agenda is premised on seven key pillars, namely: food security, green energy transition, economic diversification, sustainable industries, the Creative Economy, COVID-19 recovery, and social protection.
He said said setting the agenda of this important initiative brings with it a sense of hope for the twin-island Federation as it has effectively positioned the country on the right path towards sustainability.
