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The first footage out of the eastern Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Beryl makes chilling viewing for those still in the projected path of the “extremely dangerous” early season storm.
“I experienced Ivan already. This is worse,” one resident on the tiny island of Carriacou said in a video report.
Initial reports indicate at least four people were killed in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as the Category 4 storm – packing winds of up to 150 miles per hour – plowed through the windward islands. There was also damage in Barbados where the Indian World Cup Twenty20 champions were stranded following their victory in the tournament final on Saturday.
Carriacou, part of Grenada, was in the immediate path of the storm.
Weather reporter Jonathan Petramala flew in to witness the hurricane’s passage. In a video report he described how the roof was ripped off his hotel.
“This island is shredded. Its people are in desperate need of help,” he explained to the camera as he roamed the rubble-strewn streets of the island.
Hurricane Beryl’s Aftermath: Carriacou Residents’ Survival Storieshttps://t.co/Ne0vdT6FDW #carriacou #Beryl #surviving #HurricaneBeryl #Grenada #sos pic.twitter.com/PeaYLvdrZ6
— Jonathan Petramala (@jpetramala) July 2, 2024
Aerial footage showed fallen power lines, uprooted trees and debris from destroyed buildings piled up in the streets.
Residents interviewed in the video report made comparisons to Ivan, which devastated the island before beating a deadly path through the Caribbean and ripping into Cayman in 2004.
Beryl increased in speed Tuesday as it barrelled towards Jamaica, where it is expected to make landfall Wednesday morning.
“This is saddening because somebody else is going to experience this tomorrow,” one of the residents of Carriacou said, standing outside his shattered home.
“This is just like Ivan. Carriacou is finished for a while,” another resident told the reporter as cows, goats and chickens roamed amid the debris.
‘This is as bad as it gets’
Petramala acknowledged that, like many people, he had not heard of Carriacou before flying in for the storm and praised the friendliness and resilience of its people.
The reporter, who covers extreme weather as a career, said, “This is as bad as it gets.”
Officials recounted “widespread reports of destruction and devastation in Carriacou and Petite Martinique,” according to multiple media reports.
Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said: “In half an hour, Carriacou was flattened.”
At least one death was reported in Grenada and a second in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said that around 90% of homes had been damaged or destroyed on the nation’s Union Island, according to the Independent.
The New York Times indicated that as many as four fatalities were now confirmed across the islands.
Jamaica urges evacuations from low-lying areas
Meanwhile, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has urged residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas to relocate, as Beryl approaches the island.
The hurricane is expected to bring life-threatening winds, heavy rainfall and storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Holness urged Jamaicans to “please secure yourself by moving to higher ground and moving to safer ground”.
“I quite understand that people don’t want to leave their property; but the most important thing is your life,” he stressed.
He added that the country was taking steps to prepare for the hurricane, including ensuring supplies of food and water once the hurricane has passed.
“We have two weeks supply of fuel, our telecommunication services have been investing significantly in improving the resilience of their hard infrastructure and we expect that they should stand up,” he said.
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