Kenicia Francis
Officials are considering extending the deployment of the Antiguan and Barbudan troops sent to support hurricane-hit St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.
The Defence Force’s Chief of Defence Staff, Colonel Telbert Benjamin, told Observer, “The original timeframe is two weeks, but consideration is being given to extending it to a month so that we can provide the needed support to the people of both St Vincent and the Grenadines as well as Grenada.”
He continued, “Based on the extent of the damage observed in not only St Vincent and the Grenadines, but also Grenada, it is recognised that there is a lot that has to be done, and a lot of support is required.”
The troops have been assessing damage and distributing essential supplies, including drinking water.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall in the Windward Islands as a category four storm on July 1. The islands of Carriacou in Grenada and Union in the Grenadines bore much of the brunt, suffering extensive damage, with more than 90 percent of structures destroyed.
In St Vincent and the Grenadines, Lieutenant Commander Dorian Davis leads the team, operating from Union island, and conducting assessments across the Grenadines. In Grenada, a team led by Lieutenant Jacobs, including personnel from Antigua, Barbuda, and Barbados, is providing security assessments.
Benjamin went into further detail about what each team is addressing with the various islands in need.
“The main aspect that the teams have been focused on is really providing immediate [relief] to the population. In the case of St Vincent and the Grenadines, it’s providing shelter. The National Office of Disaster Services has provided things like car-pooling, and other international partners have done the same. And distributing those items to those persons in need.
“On Grenada and its islands, Petit-Martinique and Carriacou, water is desperately needed. Fresh bottled water is desperately needed. So it’s providing water to the population and supporting law enforcement needs on those islands as well, because you can imagine that not only was the general population impacted, but also the law enforcement community as well has been impacted severely,” he explained.
Colonel Benjamin also described some of the damage that the teams have observed.
“The report sent back to us is that the damage across Union island, across Canouan, and across a number of the other smaller Grenadine islands is extensive. In some cases, as much as 90 percent of the infrastructure has been damaged, either by the loss of roofs or complete destruction of buildings.
“A lot of the population is either in shelters on those islands or have travelled to mainland St Vincent for support.”
He added, “What we are doing based on the evaluation is trying to help return the islands of St Vincent and its dependencies to a state of normalcy. So far, what the teams have done is assess immediate needs and try to clear critical infrastructure so that it can be utilised by the government and people of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Similar activities are happening in Grenada as well.”
