It didn’t take long for the predictions by the experts who made forecasts for the 2024 hurricane season to be fulfilled.
The predictions were that the 2024 hurricane season could be one of the busiest, with the unusually warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea likely to make hurricanes intensify rapidly to Category 5 storms.
On June 29, Hurricane Beryl grew from a tropical wave to a Cat 5 storm in little over 48 hours targeting and impacting Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados. The storm devastated Carriacou a small island close to Grenada and created serious damage in Grenada and St. Vincent.
The targeted trajectory for Hurricane Beryl had it impacting Jamaica as a Category 2 event three days later, but the warm seas prevented the storm from losing strength. Although Jamaica was spared a more devastating direct hit, the storm passed close enough to the island as a Cat 4 with winds of 145mph to create serious damage estimated at billions of dollars on the island’s south coast, particularly in the parishes of Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, and Westmoreland.
Amazingly, despite the many images of property damage in Jamaica, other images on social media showed some Jamaicans having fun during the storm, and even during their predicament after the storm. Within 24 hours after the storm’s impact a dancehall song titled “Dutty Beryl” was recorded and released, and an aspiring poet also released a related poem on social media.
One wonders if a similar humorous reaction would have prevailed if Hurricane Beryl had made a direct hit on the island or landed as a Category 5 storm.
Hurricanes are not to be treated as occasions for merriment. They are extremely dangerous natural disasters that can cause widescale damage to property, agriculture, and livestock, not to mention several lives. Another tragic example of some Jamaicans not taking the hurricane seriously was that of a young man playing football during the storm and jumping into a gully flooded by heavy rainfall associated with the storm, only to be washed away.
While there are great thanks that the residents of the Eastern Caribbean and Jamaica did not experience mass casualty from the impact of Hurricane Beryl, it is evident there is a critical need to educate Caribbean residents on the importance of taking better precautionary measures prior to an advancing hurricane. Although the authorities in Jamaica released a long list of hurricane shelters in advance of Beryl‘s impact, relatively few residents moved into these shelters. The authorities also advised residents living in regions vulnerable to hurricane conditions to evacuate, but this advice was not mandatory.
As Beryl revealed, hurricanes over 100 mph can easily blow off roofs of what seems like sturdy buildings. When roofs are blown off, outer and inner walls can collapse, and residents in homes become more endangered by the wind and rain. Moreover, some people have the tendency to seek refuge outdoors when the roofs of their homes are blown off, further endangering their lives.
But another very serious aspect of strong hurricanes is storm surges along coastal areas. These storm surges can rise several feet depending on the hurricane’s strength with devastating consequences to lives and property. The Caribbean islands, especially the smaller islands, don’t go several miles inland, and a strong storm surge can be catastrophic. In Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, several communities with large populations are located directly on or just off the coasts. It is imperative that mandatory measures be taken to evacuate residents from these locations particularly if the storm is at or above Category 3 strength. Unfortunately, Caribbean residents are not inclined to readily leave their homes and the possessions they worked hard, and sacrificed much, to accumulate, even when a very strong hurricane approaches, but ways must be found to impress on them that evacuations can mean the difference between their life and their death.
Category 5 Hurricane Beryl developed very early in the Hurricane season which lasts until November 30. As the summer intensifies in July and August, seas in the region, including around South Florida, will get warmer. This means hurricanes even stronger than Beryl could impact the region over the next 5 months. Beryl was warning that more intense and effective pre-hurricane preparation is required to be taken by public authorities and residents throughout the region.
Neither the Caribbean nor South Florida, but particularly the Caribbean, can sustain the long-term economic and societal fallout from the impact of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane that is a direct hit.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the devastating impact of Beryl on Jamaica, St. Vincent, Grenada, Carriacou, and other neighboring Islands, significant assistance is needed from the diaspora in cash and kind. Those who can, are urged to give generously.
