They’re picking up power lines in Jamaica and pumping out rainwater in the Riviera Maya. But they’ve got it relatively easy compared to the people in the southern Grenadines and the islands of Grenada.
As Hurricane Beryl battered the Texas coast and shut down more than 1,000 flights in and out of HOU and IAH on 08JUL, many Caribbean residents woke up to the daunting task of rebuilding entire islands.
The storm virtually levelled Mayreau, Union, and Palm Islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as the Carriacou and Petite Martinique islands in Grenada. The main islands of St. Vincent and Grenada were largely spared.
The Washington Post reported on the weekend that some of the hardest-hit areas still require basic necessities: food, water, medicine, and power.
"We’re just trying to take it one step at a time,” Mayreau resident Maria Ollivierre said. “Deal with what we have to deal with and go forward, more or less.”
The Post said Grenada officials had to deal with “severed communications, blocked roads and limited access to fuel as they started surveying damage on Carriacou and Petite Martinique.”
Some reports say more than 90% of structures on both islands were wiped out by the hurricane.
Relief efforts have been launched in Toronto and around the world. Anyika Mark, director of communications for Black Urbanism TO, told the CBC that her organization is now fundraising to bring relief to the island nation where she has family.
Global Medic, a Canadian charity, is also looking to bring supplies to Caribbean countries as travel reopens.
One Caribbean Canada has a page on its website with useful information for anyone looking to lend a hand.
The storm was also among the most powerful to ever hit Jamaica, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.
“While there have been some reports of fallen trees, debris, flooding and power outages, we are grateful that there has been no wide-scale impact to our general tourism infrastructure,” said tourism minister Edmund Bartlett.
“Jamaica was spared the worst of the hurricane and we have now returned to regular business operations,” said Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association president Nicola Madden-Greig. She said airports in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Kingston were re-opened 05JUL.
“Our resorts in the storm’s path throughout Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Grenada remain open, where guests are already enjoying many of the resort amenities as we work to get back to normal,” Sandals Resorts International said in a message to the media.
Sandals also thanked travel advisors and guests for “their many contributions during the past few days. Their understanding and collaboration has been invaluable as we implemented various changes at each resort to prepare and ensure everyone’s safety.”
The Cayman Compass reports that Cayman Island leaders are worried the island nation could be facing a “new normal” that features more frequent, powerful storms.
Beryl brought heavy rain to the Riviera Maya on 05JUL and O6JUL.
High winds uprooted trees and caused power outages, but no major damage was reported.
