Southern communities in Saint Lucia, including Laborie and Vieux Fort, as well as the town of Soufriere, were severely impacted by Hurricane Beryl as it moved across the Windward Island this past Sunday and Monday.
Although no deaths were reported in Saint Lucia, Grenada was not so fortunate with three deaths being reported there. In a national address yesterday morning Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell reported two deaths on the island of Carriacou and one in Grenada where a man was killed when a tree fell on his house.
“The possibility that there may be more fatalities is a grim reality,” Mitchell said.
Beryl first approached Saint Lucia as a Category 4 Hurricane, and over the past 24 hours, residents endured the effects of a downgraded system. Yet, the storm was characterised with strong winds and torrential rainfall and with the resultant flooding, land slippage and destruction of property.
The Saint Lucia Met Office Monday downgraded announced the discontinuation of the Tropical Storm Warning, and an ‘All Clear’ was issued at 8.00 p.m. Monday.
“This system could have had an even more severe effect on our country but we were spared this time from possible disaster,” declared Prime Minister Philip J Pierre, in an address to the nation, Monday evening.
According to the prime minister the downgraded system brought strong winds and torrential rainfall with the resultant flooding, land slippage and destruction of property.
Said Pierre, “Parliamentary reps and the 18 District Disaster Management Committees are actively gathering and relaying information from various constituencies to the National Emergency Operations Center. This data is being collated and evaluated by NEMO for a preliminary assessment of the extent of damage across the island. There are reports of fallen trees, blocked roads and waterways, outages in water, power and telecommunication services and widespread damage to banana farms.
“There is significant damage at the Soufriere Waterfront and Cemetery area, flooding in Laborie, particularly at the Cross Over Park and waterfront areas, and the Vieux Fort Police Jetty has been completely destroyed. In the north of the island, there has been landslides and loss of homes in the Hospital Road and Faux-a-Chaud areas. There has been reports of damaged roofs island wide and displacements of families in Anse La Raye and Canaries.
“Please be advised that these are only preliminary assessments by first responders who will report in 48 hours to the National Emergency Operations Centre.
Reports reaching us indicated that our sister islands of Grenada, Petit Martinique, Carriacou, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines experienced serious damage and the task of rebuilding will be challenging. We call on all Saint Lucians to join when asked to assist the people of these countries in whatever way possible. The Government of Saint Lucia stands ready to assist our fellow CARICOM neighbours. Our collective thoughts and prayers go out to our brothers and sisters at this time.”
“I have instructed that the Ministry of Infrastructure conduct an island wide assessment of damage to national infrastructure and report to me in seven days so that rebuilding efforts can commence,” the prime minister added.
Utility companies have begun their assessments and repairs, and businesses and government offices have reopened. However, schools are due to reopen today (Wednesday), which is when the Ministry of Education will release the CPEA results.