September 27, 2024 – Three months after Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 hurricane to ever form, tore through the Caribbean Basin, devastated communities are continuing their long road to recovery. Since landfall, CARE and the Caribbean Gender Alliance have been supporting the most vulnerable affected by this historic storm. This work has been carried out through their Caribbean Humanitarian Partnership Platform, a network of lifesaving, locally-led, women-focused organizations mobilized and supported by these two organizations immediately following largescale disasters in the Caribbean.
Across the three most-impacted countries – Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica – up to 180,000 people have required humanitarian assistance since the storm’s landfall. In Grenada, 98 percent of the infrastructure in Carriacou and Petite Martinique islands was destroyed. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Beryl caused losses of 98 percent of banana and plantain production and the destruction of the lobster and fisheries sector. And in Jamaica, 82 health facilities reported major damage and upwards of 45,000 farmers are estimated to have agricultural losses at around US$15.9 million.
“Over the past three months we have seen the very best in humanity following some of the worst devastation imaginable. On one hand, we saw neighbors rallying around each other for support and protection. And we also saw our Caribbean families made vulnerable in many ways affecting their mental health, access to food, and safe shelter. We have long-term work to do to recover,” said Nadella Oya, Chair, Caribbean Gender Alliance.
“Beryl is yet another example how climate change affects those that are causing it the least. Caribbean women and girls are leading the Beryl response, and we are proud to stand alongside all those affected as they mark three months since this catastrophe,” said Jonathan Arogeti, Caribbean Humanitarian Response Lead, CARE. “That said, it’s important to note women and girls who are disproportionately affected by disasters like this.”
