MONSTER Category 4 hurricane Beryl brushed past Tobago on July 1 as it churned north towards the Windward Island, making landfall in the island of Carriacou leaving a trail of damage and destruction, but with no reports of human casualties yet.
With the storm remaining “extremely dangerous," Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Martinique remained all under hurricane warning.
The islands experienced widespread power outages, water shortages and infrastructure damage.
Beryl slammed into Carriacou off Grenada, on Monday morning after regaining category four strength with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (approximately 225 km/h). Earlier, she had dropped to category three.
It is the first storm on record in the Atlantic to reach category four strength in June.
In a statement just after midday, Grenada PM Dickon Mitchell said he anticipated damage caused by the hurricane in Carriacou “will be extreme.
“As soon as it is safe to do so I will journey to Carriacou to assess the damage and give a full report to the nation,” he said, adding that while the eye of the hurricane did not pass over Grenada, the island expected strong winds, storm surges and continued heavy precipitation, "for the next several hours.”
Carriacou has a population of about 10,000 and is best known for its beaches and coral reef.
Carriacou and the other islands will remain vigilant as another disturbance – Invest 96L – was reported by the Hurricane Centre in Miami, about 1,000 miles (1609.3 km) east-southeast of the Windward Islands, reportedly on a path similar to Beryl's.
The US Hurricane Center warned, "Environmental conditions appear marginally conducive for additional development of this system, and a tropical depression could form by the middle part of this week while it moves generally westward at 15-20 mph across the central and western tropical Atlantic.
“It has a 20 per cent chance of development over the next two days and a 50 per cent chance of development over the next seven days.”
REGIONAL RESPONSE
Caricom chairman and Guyana president Dr Irfaan Ali said he was deeply concerned and anxious over Beryl's passage through the Caribbean.
In a statement on Caricom's website, Ali said, "Initial reports have indicated significant damage and destruction to infrastructure and private property in some territories.
"As this weather phenomenon roars its way through the region, we must continue to brace ourselves against the effects of high winds, storm surges along sea coasts, and heavy rainfall."
Ali called on citizens and the private sector to co-ordinate with their respective governments and regional emergency response agencies to provide support and relief to those affected by the hurricane.
He said the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) was already working to mobilise and co-ordinate assistance and disaster relief.
"This is a time for all of us as a regional community to stand together and extend our support to those impacted or likely to be impacted by Hurricane Beryl. Le
