Grenada
Reflecting on how life can change in an instant
Perhaps you’ve seen the news this week. No, not that news. Not that news either. Buried in The New York Times’ The Morning newsletter on Wednesday was a reference to Grenada. It caught my eye because I have been to Grenada. Here is a picture I took last year.
Here’s the lede from the AP this week:
The minister for the two islands in Grenada that Hurricane Beryl first slammed into with catastrophic winds had a simple message for U.N. and other humanitarian officials who asked what was needed: “Anything that would allow a human being to survive.”
Tevin Andrews, who was in the devastated island of Carriacou Friday where Beryl first made landfall as the earliest category 4 storm in the Atlantic, also said when asked whether there was flat space for humanitarian workers to set up tents: “The whole island is flat.”
Simon Springett, the top U.N. humanitarian official for the eastern Caribbean and Barbados, who listened to Andrews’ call and relayed his remarks to U.N. correspondents said he didn’t want to sound over-dramatic, “but the islands were really dramatically, catastrophically, catastrophically hit.”
He said Beryl’s fierce rains and wind late Monday in Carriacou knocked out desalination plants, cell towers, and fiber optic cables, left roads impassable, and destroyed probably 95% of housing along with local businesses and income-generating activities.
I keep thinking about the people of Grenada this week, about what a beautiful place they inhabit — and how life can change in an instant.
Here is an image from BBC coverage, which shows before and after from satellite imagery. To interact with the image, visit the BBC article.
News
Here is a round up of recent news coverage related to the devastation in Grenada. I am sharing gift links to the two New York Times articles so you can read them in full. The second one has a 47 second video that is worth watching.
Grenada minister tells UN: hurricane-devastated Islands need anything for `a human being to survive’ (AP News)
In pictures: Hurricane Beryl devastates Caribbean islands (BBC)
After Island Loses Its Only Hospital, Grenada Scrambles for an Alternative (NYTimes, gift link)
Hurricane Beryl Caused ‘Unimaginable’ Damage in Grenada, Leader Says (NYTimes, gift link) includes 47s video
Grenada (Relief Web)
UN official describes total devastation in Carriacou following Hurricane Beryl (United Nations)
I also found some high quality drone footage of the devastation (hat tip to Yachting World) that is pretty striking, which I’ve embedded below.
Contrasts
As I read the news, I keep thinking about the Grenada I saw last year. I was only able to visit the island of Grenada so I haven’t seen the two smaller islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique that bore the brunt of this storm. Still, my heart goes out to everyone impacted.
Here are some quotes from recent news and on-the-ground reporting, interspersed with images of Grenada.
“The entire island is completely affected … that is literally 100 per cent of the population.”
-Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean (source)
As reported by UN OCHA, an estimated 200,000 people have been affected in both Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, representing 100% of the population.
-Relief Web, July 6, 2024
On Petite Martinique, 100 per cent of homes have been damaged or destroyed.
-Relief Web, July 5, 2024
Carriacou’s hospital, Princess Royal, which has 40 beds and was recently retrofitted to withstand severe weather events, was flooded and 75 percent of its roof had been blown away by Beryl, officials said. “This rendered the facility basically unusable,” Dr. Shawn Charles, the Grenada health ministry’s chief medical officer, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
-New York Times, July 3, 2024
As of Tuesday night, there was no electricity on either island, and communications were down.
-New York Times, July 3, 2024
The minister for the two islands in Grenada that Hurricane Beryl first slammed into with catastrophic winds had a simple message for U.N. and other humanitarian officials who asked what was needed: “Anything that would allow a human being to survive.”
-AP News, July 5, 2024
More than 98 per cent of the buildings has been severely affected in the Union, Carriacou and Petit Martinique islands, where most of the health facilities are compromised, as well as the terminal building Carriacou airport, and in general the majority of buildings, including schools and petrol stations, are damaged or destroyed.
-Relief Web, July 6, 2024
“Directly after the hurricane, the seas were exceptionally rough, which made it nearly impossible to get there. The air control towers are out – so there is only fly by visibility. But also, even when things get to the airport, there no roads to access the goods.”
-Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean (source)
“This new reality of unprecedented hurricanes is becoming an annual and ever-present reality for the Caribbean countries while facing the brunt of climate change,” said Rhea Pierre, Disaster Manager at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
“The severity of damages in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl are tangible and devastating.”
Give | Help
The UK announced a support package and some Londoners have launched community relief efforts for those affected by Hurricane Beryl.
If you would like to help, here are some options (do your own due diligence):
Government of Grenada Natural Disaster Relief Fund: Donate to the Hurricane Beryl Relief (Government of Grenada)
Grenada Disaster Relief Fund Activated (High Commission for Grenada in the United Kingdom)
Help Hurricane Beryl Relief Efforts by Donating to These Organizations (Travel + Leisure)
Hurricane Beryl has devastated the Caribbean. Here’s how you can help from Miami (Miami Herald)
Go deeper: Grenada
Want to learn more about Grenada? Here’s a few links to get you started:
Grenada (Britannica)
Grenada (CIA The World Factbook)
Grenada (Google Maps)
Pure Grenada (Grenada Tourism Authority)
🎵Media Embed: Caribbean Blue by Enya
As I sat down to write this, I put a playlist on shuffle and the first song that started playing was this one. I first discovered Enya in the early to mid 1990s and haven’t listened to Caribbean Blue in a good long while but somehow the algorithm must have known what I was about to write about. It’s a fitting choice. Enjoy.
Life is a gift. Treasure it. Make someone’s day today.
Until next week, be well.
-Bryce
Wow. You can see how lush and green it once was and not it's nothing like that at all. I was younger when Katrina hit New Orleans. But I still remember every part of the impact. My heart breaks deeply for those people. Thank you for sharing