NEW YORK — Historic Hurricane Beryl tore through the Caribbean on Tuesday, devastating parts of Grenada on Monday.
CBS New York visited Little Caribbean in Brooklyn, where family ties to the archipelago are strong.
Trees were swept away by 9-foot waves and 150 mph winds tore off roofsas the Category 4 storm battered Grenada and directly hit the tiny island of Carriacou.
“There’s no place to hide,” said McDonald Romaine, owner of Little Caribbean staple Labay Market. “Very emotional, not so good, but I’m trying to keep going.”
Beryl stole two lives on the island, one of which was a relative of Romaine. His sister, Josephine, still lives there and for over a day he didn’t know what was going on with her. Eventually, after someone shared a satellite link, he made contact with her.
“She wanted to let everyone know that it was so horrible that she wouldn’t want her worst enemy to go through something like that,” Romaine said.
Beryl’s size and intensity astound scientists
Phil Klotzbach, a senior research associate who directs Colorado State University’s seasonal hurricane forecasting team, said Beryl is a bad omen for the 2024 hurricane season.
“Beryl was the earliest Category 4 hurricane ever, the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever, the strongest hurricane ever to hit Grenada,” Klotzbach said. “These storms that we normally associate more with August and September, to have them this early in July is, you know, not a good sign for the rest of the season.”
Unusually warm Atlantic waters fueled Beryl’s intensification. Now Grenada residents must deal with the aftermath as Jamaica, where many indigenous residents call Little Caribbean home, appears to be next on the storm’s list.
Many are mobilizing to help
Shelley Worrell, founder of I Am CaribBeing, a business that aims to promote Caribbean culture, said she is working with Romaine to help the island.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure they get the supplies and resources they need,” Worrell said. “We’ve only been at it for 24 hours, so really we’re trying to listen first and foremost, what’s the damage, what’s needed.”
Clothing and building materials top the list. Worrell said all New Yorkers will soon be able to go to I Am CaribBeing’s Instagram page and find out how they too can help rebuild Grenada.
“Everybody feels it, wherever they are,” Worrell said.
