IN Trinidad, we joke and say God is a Trini, because our proximity to South America means that most major hurricanes pass us by.

Hurricane Beryl was no different. It passed north of us and while there was some rain, the effects quickly dissipated.

Normally, I would have been in Trinidad, doing my best to prepare for the hurricane, working on hurricane stories, and worrying about my family in Jamaica. This time was different as I’d flown to Jamaica to visit with my family and was scheduled to fly back at the end of the week after Beryl had passed.

[caption id="attachment_1094691" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Motorists drive past a fallen light pole on Norman Manley Boulevard, Negril, Jamaica, after the passage of Hurricane Beryl. - Photo by Paula Lindo[/caption]

I was staying with my brother Allan, sister-in-law Nelka and their two girls, ten year old Bethany and Hope, three, in a housing scheme in Negril, Westmoreland. Thankfully we were inland, so didn’t have to worry about storm surge, although the nearest beach was no more than five minutes drive away.

Nelka had bought groceries a couple days ago so the fridge was fully stocked, and we had bought snacks, which we’re still eating two days later.

On Monday, the Prime Minister had declared the whole country a disaster area and said there would be a nationwide curfew from 6 am to 6 pm to prevent criminality. He also said when the storm hit, the electricity and water lines would be shut down to prevent fires and water wastage from burst pipes.

So we had time to buy supplies, snacks for the kids, water and bottled water, and to fill bottles, buckets and pans with water.

The anticipation was some of the worst, but you had to just sit tight and wait because there wasn’t anything you could do.

[caption id="attachment_1094700" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Workmen look on as a tractor clears debris near Norman Manley Boulevard, Negril, Jamaica. - Photo by Paula Lindo[/caption]

We’d cracked the windows and opened the doors so the breeze could find its way through the house without creating a vacuum and breaking the few glass windows, the roof was concrete, so hopefully it wouldn’t be lifted off although the wooden structure above it might, and hopefully any water coming into the yard would run off the slight slope past the house.

Initially, the reports were that we would start feeling the effects of the hurricane by Tuesday evening. Nelka and I made sure we knew where the candles were and went to bed. I kept an ear open but next thing I knew it was morning. Because we were at the westernmost tip of the island, we didn’t expect it to hit us right away and I told Nelka I was glad it hadn’t hit in the night

On Wednesday morning it struck me that even as we were preparing for a natural disaster, life had to go on. Since we knew at some point we’d be without light and water, we’d been charging our devices, especially the children’s tablets, and collecting water, and then my sister-in-law cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the three of us, bec