Excerpt and Photo from theguardian.com
This should have been a week of celebration in the Caribbean country of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). The annual Vincy Mas carnival, which attracts thousands of tourists, had advertised a packed schedule of costume parades and soca competitions.
Instead, the Vincentian population is reeling from what the country’s prime minister has described as the “utter devastation” wrought by Hurricane Beryl, which ravaged the multi-island country and its eastern Caribbean neighbour Grenada.
Images and videos shared on social media showed apocalyptic scenes in SVG and Grenada: flattened houses; damaged police stations, schools and hospitals; streets strewn with the remnants of mangled and dismantled roofs, and towering swells rushing into roads and properties. They told a powerful story of panic, fear and anguish.
At least four people in the Caribbean and three in Venezuela have died during the hurricane, which is barrelling towards Jamaica, having reached category 5 status. On Facebook, among the prayers, regional camaraderie and global messages of support, there are desperate pleas for help and information about missing loved ones.