Alvin Douglas was left homeless when category-4 hurricane Beryl struck the Caribbean at the start of July. "A lot of people were caught off-guard because we underestimated the (warning) bulletin, we didn't really take it seriously," says Douglas, a resident of Union Island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. "We don't usually have hurricanes this far south."
Beryl, with winds of up to 240 km per hour, smashed homes, downed power lines and sank fishing and tourist boats. It is the earliest category-5 hurricane to hit the Caribbean on record.
In Barbados, the fishing trade was devastated. Between Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, nearly 60,000 people needed urgent assistance. Large areas of Jamaica also lost electricity.
"The destruction brought by this hurricane so early in the season is a stark reminder that we must act urgently to reduce the losses of life and livelihoods to extreme weather events," said Brian Bogart, head of WFP's Caribbean Multi-Country Office. "We have seen the devastation and know the despair people feel. WFP is thankful to our partners for their support in getting people the food, cash, and resources they need."
