Grenada has lifted the state of emergency (SOE) imposed on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique after they were battered by Hurricane Beryl during her passage through the Windward Islands last Monday.

The two islands were placed under the SOE last Wednesday with an 11-hour daily curfew from 7:00 pm local time. An extraordinary publication of the official gazette on Monday, signed by secretary to the Cabinet Carvel Lett, indicated that the Emergency Powers (Hurricane Beryl) (No 2) regulation will be repealed on July 9.

As required by the Disaster Management Act, the Government has since declared the parishes of St Patrick and Carriacou and Petite Martinique, as disaster zones for three months covering the period from July 1 to September 30.

“This notice shall be deemed to have commenced at 11:00 am on the 1st day of July 2024 and shall expire at 11:59 pm on the 30th day of September 2024,” read the notice, which said Hurricane Beryl with maximum sustained winds of approximately 120 miles/hour caused widespread damage and destruction to property, physical infrastructure, the environment and crops and loss of human life.

Anguilla donates toward hurricane relief efforts

The Grenadian government is yet to announce the estimated cost of the damages. In the meantime, the government of Anguilla is making available EC$500,000 to be divided equally between Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines for hurricane relief efforts.

“The catastrophic damage to Carriacou, Petit Martinique, Union Island and others reminds us of Anguilla’s plight following Hurricane Irma in 2017 and confirms that global warming and our position as Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean make us interconnected, interrelated, and mutually vulnerable,” explained premier Dr Ellis Webster.

According to him, “In Anguilla’s time of distress and need, the region stood in solidarity and came to our aid. It is now our turn to help our brothers and sisters in the Windward Islands.”