Hurricane Beryl: For hard-hit islands, preparation paid off with rapid response. But recovery is complicated by widespread damage.

Well before Hurricane Beryl made landfallon the Caribbean Island nations of Jamaica, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Red Cross volunteers, local authorities and residents had been working hard to prepare for the worst.Anticipating road blockages, power outages and scarcity of clean water and food, Red Cross crews were preparing relief packages and moving supplies as close as possible to the places most likely to be in need after the storm.By the time HurricaneBeryl made landfall in Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados,it was classified as a category 4 hurricane. High winds toppled trees and power lines, tore entire roofs from houses and in some cases, blew buildings completely off their foundations.On the islands ofCarriacou and Petite Martinique, more than95 per cent homes of were either damaged or destroyed, according to official estimates. Aerial photos showed large swaths of destruction where neighborhoods once stood. Nor did the storm spare health facilities, airport buildings, schools or petrol stations.When Hurricane Beryl arrived in Jamaica, it brought extensive damage across the island. Roads were blocked by fallen trees, downed power lines and landslides, while power outages and structural damage to important public facilities hampered response efforts.“This is the strongest hurricane to strike Jamaica in almost 17 years — since Hurricane Dean in 2007,” said Rhea Pierre,the IFRC’s disaster manager for the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.On all the islands, relief and rescue efforts were complicated by continued bad weather, power outages, road blockages and damage to infrastructure. In many cases, the hardest affected areas were also cut off from basic services.Thanks to storm warnings, thousands of people gathered safely in shelters. But the storm also claimed lives.Authorities have so far confirmed at least 15 deaths:five in Grenada, five in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, two in Jamaica and three in Venezuela. But the number could still rise as the assessment continues.Preparation paid offDespite the damage, the advance work paid off. In the aftermath, volunteer crews were ready to act, visiting hard-hit communities and making detailed assessments of people’s needs. They handed out supplies, offered first-aid and lent a listening ear to people coping with their losses.“We are out giving out distributions such as tarpaulins and jerry cans, as well as cleaning tapes and food supplies for those families who were affected by the hurricane,” said Zoyer John, a volunteer for the Grenada Red Cross as she stood in front of a badly damaged house.“Most of the damage to our tri-island state occurred in the islands ofCarriacou and Petite Martinique. But here on the main island, on the north of the island, a lot of people were also impacted.”In Jamaica, Red Cross volunteers were also on the ground quickly doing rapid assessments and distributing supplies they had prepared at the beginning of the hurricane season. As the hurricane approached, those stocks were moved to safe storage facilities close to the places where the impact was expected to be heaviest.All this advance work was bolstered by an allocation of CHF 1.7 million from the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (IFRC-DREF), based on the anticipated needs of people in the storm’s path. This forward-looking outlay meant that communities could count on emergency assistance without having to wait for fundraising after the storm.In the days following the hurricane, the IFRC also launched an emergency appeal of CHF 4 million to provide immediate humanitarian assistance, protection and recovery support to the most affected families. The operation will support 25,000 people (5,000 households) over a one-year period.In the initial days, the focus will be on the distribution of relief items and short-term shelter solutions that will cover people’s immediate needs. Over time, however, the plan is to also carry out interventions that help people ensure access to dignified and safe shelter — focusing on building back better — as well as provision of cash and vouchers for specific goods.It will also offer various supports for restoration of livelihoods. Due to the storm’s impact on infrastructure, many people on the islands have been left without an income. In Barbados, the fisheries industry and small business owners along the southern coastlines were heavily affected by storm surges that caused widespread damage.Health interventions are also planned to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. National Societies will focus on supporting people’s hygiene needs as well as safe water, mainly through the delivery of household water-treatment kits.More storms to comeOn the minds of all Red Cross National Societies in the region is the fact that hurricane season is just beginning. This is one reason the emergency appeal also supports interventions aimed at reducing people’s vulnerability to future disasters and enhancing community disaster response.With Hurricane Beryl now one week in the past, residents must now try put their lives back on track while at the same time, getting ready for whatever might come next.This is the new reality that Caribbean small island nations face as hotter-than-normal water temperatures in the southern Atlantic and Caribbean act as fuel for storms, causing them to intensify quickly into major hurricanes. This gives communities less time in between storms to recover and prepare.“Events like these are no longer a one-off and this highlights the need for local actors to lead the way in preparedness and anticipatory action,” added Rhea Pierre,the IFRC’s disaster manager for the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. “We are seeing that kind of preparedness in action right now.”

Caribbean Islands: Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 1 July as a Category 4 hurricane and has since left a trail of devastation across the Caribbean. Through this emergency appeal, the IFRC and its membership aim to support the Red Cross Societies of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados, and Jamaica in their response to the hurricane through the provision of immediate humanitarian assistance, protection, and recovery support for the most affected families. The IFRC and its membership will support 25,000 people (5,000 households) for a period of 12 months.

Humanitarian needs ramp up in the aftermath of 'unprecedented' Hurricane Beryl, signaling new reality for Caribbean

Panama City, Geneva, 4 July 2024 – Hurricane Beryl, the earliest hurricane to reach category five intensity in the Atlantic Ocean, has caused unprecedented devastation across the Caribbean, making its destructive path through Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica, Barbados, and Jamaica.This unprecedented early-season hurricane underscores the new reality of the climate crises that Caribbean small island nations face: storms are more likely to rapidly intensify and become stronger, causing severe destruction and giving communities less time to recover in between shocks. The hotter-than-normal water temperatures in the southern Atlantic and Caribbean are acting as fuel for storms, causing them to intensify very quickly into major hurricanes –category three or superior.In Jamaica, the Red Cross has already pre-positioned supplies to all branches in anticipation of a possible humanitarian response. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica and Barbados, local Red Cross teams are already on the ground providing life-saving assistance despite significant challenges in accessing the affected areas, most of which are scattered and isolated."Hygiene kits, cleaning kits, tool kits, kitchen sets, tarpaulins, blankets and mosquito nets have already been dispatched to the hardest hit islands to meet the immediate needs of the affected population. In the coming days, we will have a clearer picture of the full impact of Beryl on people’s physical and mental health and livelihoods. Still, rapid damage assessments show that the devastation is massive," says Rhea Pierre, IFRC Disaster Manager for the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.The storm first impacted Barbados, causing severe damage to the south coast and significantly affecting the fishing industry, with over 200 fishing vessels damaged or destroyed. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 90 percent of infrastructure has been damaged, including houses, roads, and the airport terminal on Union Island. Communication with the Southern Grenadines remains disrupted, and access to basic services is still limited.While in Grenada, Beryl made landfall in Carriacou as a Category 4 hurricane, damaging 95 percent of homes in Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The state of emergency remains in place, with 3,000 people in shelters. The Grenada Red Cross is distributing relief items and coordinating with authorities to restore communication and power services. In Dominica, residents need shelter after being forced to relocate. The Dominica Red Cross has distributed relief supplies to the most affected, especially in the Baytown Area.“By deploying community-based disaster response teams and pre-positioning supplies, we have been able to respond quickly, but we are only on day two of Beryl's aftermath, and more support will be needed in the coming weeks and months. From now on, we will be tackling two challenges at once: responding to the operation and preparing communities for the next shock, as the hurricane season is just beginning," Pierre adds.The IFRC will continue to support local Red Cross teams across the Caribbean and calls on governments, donors and stakeholders to support its response and early action efforts as humanitarian needs continue to grow and the storm season is forecast to be one of the most active on record.For more information or to request an interview, please contact: [email protected] Panama:Susana Arroyo Barrantes: +507 6999-3199In Geneva:Mrinalini Santhanam: +41 76 381 50 06Tommaso Della Longa: +41 79 708 43 67

The Barbados Red Cross Society

Red Cross in the Caribbean helps families during COVID-19 battle more than the virus

By Angela Hill While the number of COVID-19 cases in many Caribbean nations remain relatively low, these tourist hotspots are feeling the impact of the pandemic in other ways. The initial global shut down, and ongoing travel restrictions, saw the closure of resorts and hotels throughout the Caribbean, and while some are reopening, many people are still without work. In St. Lucia, the Red Cross began supporting vulnerable families through distribution of food and hygiene parcel. For the first time, the national society implemented a cash card program as part of its response to families in need. “Our surveys suggested that people were not able to pay bills, so by giving them unrestricted financial assistance, people can put the money towards what they need,” said Marva Edwards the COVID-19 project manager for the St. Lucia Red Cross. “COVID-19 has had serious impacts on the lives of people so quickly, that as a national society, we had to be in a position to provide support in the shortest time,” she said. With Lucia Red Cross’ experience in disaster planning and response, and its relationship in the communities, the organization was already working already working alongside vulnerable families, so they were able to reach out to them without delay. They are also receiving referrals from their volunteers, as well as through other networks of organizations, and known, respected community leaders. “What we are seeing on the ground is, it’s getting worse,” Edwards said. In Barbados, the Red Cross partnered with the Office of the Prime Minister to help select beneficiaries for the cash support initiative. Those affected have included numbers of people formerly employed in the tourism sector, as well as people with pre-existing health complications and single parent families, said Danielle Toppin, the COVID-19 project manager in Barbados. Like St. Lucia, in Barbados the number of cases are low, but the economic impact of COVID-19 is high. Toppin said the Red Cross has been supporting people through supermarket vouchers, food hampers, and financial assistance, and for many, it’s the first financial help they have received. Many of the beneficiaries shared that they have never relied on welfare assistance before, but now find themselves with few options. “The nature and face of vulnerability is shifting. The longer people stay out of work, for many, the more hopeless they feel. The psychosocial impact of COVID is significant. During this time, we’ve had people come into our offices and cry with relief,” she said. “One young lady that cried when we called, because she said she had just finished crying and praying for some help, then we called. We are just playing a small part, but we are happy to be in a position to bring some necessary assistance and relief.”

Strengthening Regional Readiness – Caribbean Prepares for 2019 Hurricane Season

♪ Water come inna mi room Huh huh! Mi sweep out some with mi broom Di likkle dog laugh to see such fun And di dish run away with the spoon ♪ It was catchy, it was humorous, it was enjoyed by persons as far as Nicaragua, however, it spoke to a very serious subject. It was a song about Hurricane Gilbert and the devastation wrought upon Jamaica in 1988. There are no wildly popular songs about Hurricanes Irma and Maria, perhaps because Lovindeer didn’t write one or maybe because, in this instance, the two hurricanes that came almost back to back caused so much destruction in 2017 that no humour could be found in the situation. In readiness for the 2019 hurricane season five international organisations, based in the Caribbean, are working with national disaster offices and communities to strengthen disaster preparedness. Saint Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as the Dominican Republic will improve preparedness during the hurricane season through improved localized early warning systems. Financial assistance was provided by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). The project has a four-pronged approach that includes improving the coordination of aid organisations. After Gilbert many international aid agencies sent zinc to Jamaica because thousands of homes had lost their roofs. However, as Community Early Warning Technical Specialist of the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Nicole Williams recalls, “there was no lumber on which to put the zinc or no nails to attach it to the houses.” This unfortunate circumstance did have a positive outcome - it led to the formation of regional organisations like the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). However, the response to Hurricane Maria in Dominica demonstrated that there is still room for improvement. CDEMA and United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) have been working together to improve on the Regional Response Mechanism. As part of the project there was a Training of Trainers in Dominica where members of the Dominica Red Cross received instruction on how to deliver early warning systems to the community. Early warning systems are an important aspect of preparedness because allows for early action to save lives and protect assets. National early warning is often not specific to an at-risk community. New communications tools are preferred over traditional radio and television messages. Understanding from where people receive messages and their needs is essential. The needs of vulnerable groups like women or differently-able persons are better considered in the design of alert messages. Karen Lawrence who is attached to the Dominica Meteorological Service described the training as “empowering, knowledge sharing, networking, so much so that people will be so informed that they will be able to make the right decisions at the right time, hence mitigating against all impacts of disasters.” The international partnership aims is to work with national disaster offices and communities to improve preparedness. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) leads the team on this project and works with national disaster offices to improve communications, test plans through simulations and support public awareness and education. Communities will develop a better understanding of potential risk which will encourage their members to take protective actions. Red Cross National Societies in the five countries, together with IFRC are supporting other local level actions. Ten communities will implement local early warning systems and will also be provided with the necessary technology to mitigate the risk. Early warning technology including rain gauges, flood staff gauges and warming signs. The technology is not limited to equipment but involves training of Community Disaster Relief Teams (CDRT) and the updating of disaster response plans which are tested through simulation exercises. There have been 9-15 storms predicted for the 2019 hurricane season with the probability of 4-8 hurricanes. There is the likelihood that 2-4 of those hurricanes will be major ones. As was seen with Irma and Maria in 2017, two major hurricanes can have a severe impact on the Caribbean so the international team recently got together at the World Bank’s Understanding Risk Conference in Barbados 27 May- 1 June 2019 to share progress and plan the next steps. Hopefully there will be no need for witty ditties to be sung after the 2019 hurricane season, but it has arrived so get prepared!