Category Archives: St Vincent and the Grenadines

Caribbean nations still facing humanitarian crisis weeks after Hurricane Beryl destruction

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Category 4 hurricane that devastated the islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines when it hit the Caribbean last month has left many traumatised

From the outside, it looks like a typical primary school in the multi-island Caribbean nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), with children’s voices echoing behind the distinctive green walls. But inside, washing lines sag with the weight of towels and clothes, and there are people of all ages: a baby frets on her mother’s hip, children squeal as they chase each other, teens play basketball, and elderly people sit on classroom chairs chatting.

This school in the district of Calliaqua is one of 20 on the country’s mainland, St Vincent, which were converted into shelters for those displaced by Hurricane Beryl, the category 4 storm which tore through the region in early July with winds of up to 120mph (193km/h).

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Caribbean leaders call for ‘Marshall plan’ to help rebuild after Hurricane Beryl

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Three prime ministers write to UK government saying islands cannot sustain debt from repeated rebuilding

Caribbean leaders struggling to raise hundreds of millions after Hurricane Beryl wiped out entire islands have asked the UK government to back a “Marshall plan” to rebuild their devastated countries.

The hurricane, which made landfall in the Caribbean on 1 July, killed at least 11 people, demolished more than 90% of buildings in parts of Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and left thousands homeless and without running water, electricity and food.

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Solitary wooden house on Union Island escapes fury of Hurricane Beryl

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Remarkable survival of structure triggers debate in religious St Vincent and the Grenadines about how it is still standing

On the island of Union in St Vincent and the Grenadines, where the category 4 Hurricane Beryl caused “Armageddon-like” destruction, demolishing more than 90% of the buildings, there is a solitary wooden house standing defiantly among the wreckage.

A picture of the quaint yellow building with a mauve roof, bafflingly out of place among an array of debris and roofless structures, has been shared more than 500 times on Facebook. In a deeply religious country where more than 80% of the population are Christians, it has triggered a debate about whether its survival is a miraculous message from God.

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Hurricane Beryl barrels through Cayman Islands after battering Jamaica

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Category 3 storm with wind speeds of up to 120mph continues to wreak ‘utter devastation’ in Caribbean

Hurricane Beryl is barrelling through the Cayman Islands after causing death and destruction in Jamaica.

The British overseas territory is bearing the brunt of the hurricane, which has been causing “utter devastation” in the Caribbean since Monday, when it almost destroyed parts of Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

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Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica after leaving ‘Armageddon-like’ trail in Grenada

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Jamaican PM says worst is yet to come as category 4 storm hits southern coast after causing at least seven deaths in region

Hurricane Beryl has hit Jamaica after leaving an “Armageddon-like” trail of devastation in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and killing at least seven people across the region.

The category 4 storm hit the island’s southern coast on Wednesday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 140mph (225km/h), pummeling communities and knocking out communications as emergency groups evacuated people in flood-prone communities.

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‘Please send help’: Caribbean reels from Hurricane Beryl devastation

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Homes flattened, apocalyptic scenes and at least four dead as St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada try to recover

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, soca competitions, and beauty pageants.

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.

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Four dead as category 5 Hurricane Beryl wreaks havoc across Caribbean

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With winds up to 160mph, the monster storm pushed through Grenada and is on track for Jamaica and the Yucatán peninsula

At least four people have died after Hurricane Beryl wreaked “almost complete destruction” on small and vulnerable islands in the Caribbean.

The monster hurricane, which is now barrelling towards Jamaica, has strengthened to category 5 status, which means it can achieve wind speeds of over 157mph (253km/h).

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‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Grenada

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Roofs blown off by 150mph winds and thousands hunkered down as hurricane reaches Caribbean island of Carriacou

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall on the Caribbean island of Carriacou after becoming the earliest storm of its strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.

Carriacou is one of the islands of Grenada, where officials said winds increased up to 150mph (240km/h), blowing off roofs and causing other damage.

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US yacht couple probably thrown into sea by fugitives, Grenada police say

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Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathy Brandel, 71, probably dead after catamaran was seized by escaped prisoners in Caribbean last week

A US couple whose catamaran was hijacked last week in the Caribbean by three escaped prisoners were probably thrown into the ocean and died, according to police in Grenada.

The announcement is a blow to those who were independently helping search for Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathy Brandel, 71, and had hoped they were still alive.

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St Vincent and the Grenadines court upholds laws criminalizing gay sex

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Activists decry ruling by top court as ‘a travesty of justice’ after two men sought to strike down colonial-era laws

A top court in St Vincent and the Grenadines has upheld laws that criminalize gay sex, in a blow to activists who have long decried the violence the LGBTQ+ community has faced on the conservative Caribbean archipelago.

The ruling on Friday by St Vincent’s high court stems from a 2019 case filed by two gay men from St Vincent who live in the UK and US. They sought to strike down colonial-era laws that call for 10 years in prison for anal intercourse and five years for “gross indecency” with another person of the same sex.

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St Vincent leader attacked by anti-vaccine protester – video

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Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, has been taken to hospital after a protester threw a rock at his head during a demonstration led by nurses and other workers in the eastern Caribbean island.

The protest was organised by unions representing nurses, police and other workers who claimed that the government planned to mandate vaccines for certain employees. Gonsalves clarified that he would not make vaccines mandatory

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St Vincent PM bloodied by rock thrown by anti-vaccine protester

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  • Ralph Gonsalves taken to hospital after attack on Thursday
  • Nurses and police protesting over fears of mandatory vaccines

Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, has been taken to hospital after a protester threw a rock at his head during an anti-vaccine demonstration led by nurses and other workers in the eastern Caribbean island,.

Related: CNN fires three employees for coming to work unvaccinated

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St Vincent fears volcano eruption will drive up Covid cases

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Officials say lack of clean water and overcrowding among evacuees are hampering prevention efforts

Officials in St Vincent say they are extremely worried about the island’s Covid-19 outbreak given a lack of clean water and more positive cases reported as thousands of evacuees fleeing the La Soufrière volcano eruption crowd into shelters and private homes.

About a dozen cases have been reported in recent days. At least five evacuees staying in two homes and a shelter tested positive, exposing at least 20 people to the virus, St Vincent’s chief medical officer, Dr Simone Keizer-Beache, said.

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UN warns of humanitarian crisis as St Vincent eruptions displace thousands

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  • About 20% of Caribbean island’s population have evacuated
  • Volcanic activity expected to continue for days or weeks

Volcanic eruptions on St Vincent have displaced about 20% of the Caribbean island’s population, as a UN official warned of a growing humanitarian crisis.

Between 16,000 to 20,000 people were evacuated under government orders before La Soufrière volcano first erupted on Friday, covering the lush green island with ash that continues to blanket communities in St Vincent as well as Barbados and other nearby islands.

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St Vincent water supply running low as volcano explosions continue

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Heavy ash contaminates water supplies while volcanologists say activity could continue for weeks

Leaders of volcano-racked St Vincent have warned that water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies, amid estimates that the eastern Caribbean island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufrière.

Between 16,000 and 20,000 people have been evacuated from the island’s northern region, where the exploding volcano is located, with more than 3,000 of them staying at more than 80 government shelters.

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St Vincent hit by power cuts after another ‘explosive event’

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Caribbean island blanketed in ash following biggest eruption since 1979, which has forced thousands to flee

A second “explosive event” has been reported by authorities in Saint Vincent, leaving residents of the area around La Soufrière volcano facing power cuts and water outages.

Locals described loud rumbling, lightning and heavy ashfall as conditions deteriorated on the Caribbean island, after the volcano first erupted on Friday, forcing thousands to evacuate, though some remained in their homes.

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Streets coated with ash after Caribbean volcano eruption – video

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Video from Georgetown, a community several kilometres away from La Soufrière volcano on the Caribbean island of St Vincent, shows buildings blanketed in a layer of ash after the volcano spectacularly erupted after decades of inactivity.

The eruption of La Soufrière on Friday caused dark clouds of ash to blow about 10km into the air, prompting an evacuation request from the government. Assessing the thick ash covering parts of St Vincent, the disaster response team predicted things may not return to normal for a 'very long time'


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St Vincent volcano: heavy ashfall clouds evacuation efforts on Caribbean island

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  • Friday explosion sent plume more than 33,000ft
  • Antigua and Guyana ready to take evacuees or ship supplies

Extremely heavy ashfall rained down on parts of the Caribbean island of St Vincent on Saturday and a strong sulfur smell enveloped communities, a day after a powerful explosion at La Soufriere volcano uprooted the lives of thousands who evacuated under government orders.

Related: Caribbean volcanoes rumble to life as scientists study activity not seen in years

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St Vincent rocked by explosive eruptions of La Soufrière volcano – video report

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An explosive eruption rocked La Soufrière volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent on Friday following mandatory evacuation orders from the local government. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the burst that occurred just four days short of the 42nd anniversary of the last eruption.

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