The Government of Anguilla has allocated EC$500,000 in financial aid for Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines following the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
In a statement on 5 July, Premier Ellis Webster, who is also finance minister, said Caribbean nations supported Anguilla after the Hurricane Irma and it is time to return the favour.
“We witnessed the onslaught and destruction caused by the passage of Hurricane Beryl through the Caribbean,” he said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people and countries which were affected and we are deeply saddened by the loss of life.”
Beryl formed into a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean on 28 June before rapidly intensifying as it headed west towards the Caribbean.
It made landfall over several southeast islands on 1 July as a Category 4 before increasing again in the Caribbean Sea to a Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 165mph.
A stark reminder
Webster said the catastrophic damage to Carriacou, Petite Martinique, Union Island and others brings back memories of Anguilla’s plight following Hurricane Irma.
Irma struck Anguilla as a powerful Category 5 storm on 6 September, 2017, causing catastrophic damage to the island’s infrastructure and killing one person.
It also “confirms that global warming and our position as small island developing states in the Caribbean make us interconnected, interrelated, and mutually vulnerable,” the premier said.
“In Anguilla’s time of distress and need, the region stood in solidarity and came to our aid. It is now our turn to help our brothers and sisters in the Windward Islands,” he added.
He went on to say that the executive council has approved a financial contribution of EC$500,000 to be divided equally between Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines for hurricane relief and recovery.
Above average
In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an above normal Atlantic hurricane season. This takes place from June 1 to November 30.
Experts forecast a range of 17 to 25 total named storms with winds of 39 miles per hour or higher. They expect eight to 13 to become hurricanes, with winds of 74 miles per hour or higher.
Of those, they have forecast four to seven to be major hurricanes, of category three, four or five, with winds of 111 miles per hour or higher.
Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Category 5 Atlantic storm ever recorded.
“As we progress through the remaining months… we pray for God’s grace and mercy over the region and ask all to remain vigilant and prepared for the eventualities that the season brings,” Webster said.
