Trini in St Lucia: Thankful we didn't see worst of Beryl

As Hurricane Beryl continues to barrel her way across the Caribbean, leaving devastation in her wake, one Trinidadian living in St Lucia is happy not to have seen the worst of the potentially catastrophic storm.

The Trinidadian, who has lived in St Lucia since 2022 spoke to Newsday on the morning of July 2. Because of the nature of their job, they asked that they remain anonymous.

They said, “The overall mood is thankful. We are just happy we did not see the worst of Beryl.”

On the morning of July 2, Beryl, upgraded to a Category 5 storm, was headed to Jamaica, after bringing down power lines, damaging houses, flooding streets and causing worse damage in other southeastern Caribbean islands.

One death was recorded in Bequia, the largest island in the Grenadines, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said on July 1.

Beryl made landfall at around 10 am on July 1, slamming into islands including Grenada and the southern part of St Lucia and Barbados with 140 mph category-four winds, rainfall and battering waves.

By 8 am on July 2, the storm’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 160 mph, the US National Hurricane Center said.

In St Lucia, streets were strewn with trees, trees, downed power lines and other debris. Some banana trees were snapped in half by the force of the wind.

“We began feeling the effects of Beryl mid-morning into the afternoon.

“Winds were more pronounced than rain. Low-lying areas such as Gros Islet, Dennary, Anse La Raye and Castries suffered massive flash flooding, although rainfall was not very severe.

“The entire ordeal lasted from about 10 am-about 4 pm.

“Power was lost in most of the flooded areas. WASCO (St Lucia’s Water and Sewerage Company Inc) had issued a bulletin the night before indicating that the water supply would be cut to protect their plant and machinery.

“Communication/WiFi was down in some areas for a maximum of about two hours."

By 6 pm, power had been restored, along with WiFi.

“Water came a little later during the night,” Newsday was told.

Clean-up is ongoing in the south of the island and only those in low-lying areas were affected by flooding. The courthouse in Soufriere suffered minor damage, Newsday was also told.

Videos from Soufriere showed broken roofs, football-sized rocks and thick sludge on the streets The footpath into the police station was also blocked by debris, as well as shops along the coastline.

Earlier on July 1, the streets of the capital, Castries, were underwater.

Businesses and government offices were expected to reopen on July 2, St Lucia’s Prime Minister Phillip Pierre announced at 8 pm on July 1.

“I have instructed that the Ministry of Infrastructure conduct an islandwide assessment of damage to national infrastructure and report to me in seven days so that rebuilding efforts can commence.

“Let us thank God that our country was spared the worst of what could have been a disastrous weather event. I implore you to continue to remain in a state of preparedness as this is only the beginning of an active Hurricane season,” Pierre said in a public address.

“Let us remain vigilant and united as we commence our recovery.”