Tourism-Reliant Caribbean Nations Eye Hurricane Beryl Recovery

12.07.2024 - 22:18 / travelpulse.com / Brian Major

Caribbean countries impacted last week by Hurricane Beryl continue to recover as the tourism-reliant nations grapple with electricity outages, flattened buildings and roads blocked by debris.

Communities in Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines suffered severe damage from the Category 4 storm. Meanwhile, parts of Barbados and the Cayman Islands reported minor impacts from Beryl.

Damage in Barbados was limited to the southwest shores, and “the majority of hotels and visitor accommodations are not reporting any significant damage,” according to a Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. statement.

Cayman Island Department of Tourism officials reported “no injuries to residents or visitors” on its three islands, and “clean-up operations are also currently underway.”

United Nations officials said Hurricane Beryl is the strongest hurricane in recorded history to form in June in the Atlantic Ocean. The Category 4 storm briefly reached Category 5 status with winds up to 150 mph.

The storm left a trail of destruction across several Caribbean communities. Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, said affected areas suffered “utter devastation,” with sister islands Canonuan, Union Island, and Mayreau considered the most heavily impacted.

Map of Hurricane Beryl's projected path through the Caribbean. (Photo Credit: Rokas / Adobe Stock)

Damage was less significant on the main island of Saint Vincent, where Sandals Resorts International recently opened a resort. Saint Vincent is still recovering from the impact of a 2021 volcanic eruption that displaced more than 20,000 people and caused more than $200 million worth of damage.

Grenada’s sister island of Carriacou was also badly hit, with 98 percent of buildings on the island damaged or destroyed, according to media reports.

As of July 4, electrical power and communications systems were down across the island, and “literally 100 percent” of Carriacou’s residents were affected by the hurricane, according to Simon Springett, a United Nations resident coordinator in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

Springett said organizations responding to the crisis have faced logistical and access challenges, including roads blocked by debris. Carriacou relies heavily on tourism as its small-town nature attracts island-hopping travelers from the larger island of Grenada.

As with Saint Vincent, the impact on Grenada’s main island was far less significant.

Union Island, 3 July.

Hurricane Beryl passed between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, with wind of over 220 km/h.

Massive destruction reported; 1,000+ evacuated in in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 2,500 in Grenada.
https://t.co/JwSfmairsE

© @UNmigrationpic.twitter.com/h16fdvG2ux

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