By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Chief Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMIAN students in Jamaica fared well under Hurricane Beryl passage and have no regrets about remaining in the country to endure the powerful storm, according to Honorary Consul in Jamaica Alveta Knight.
More than 30 Bahamians were airlifted home from Jamaica on Tuesday before the storm’s arrival; three students chose to remain.
Hurricane Beryl passed near Jamaica’s southern coast Wednesday after causing widespread damage in the Windward Islands on Monday.
The storm killed at least nine people, two of whom were from Jamaica, according to international reports.
Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley told CARICOM heads that the nation’s fishing sector had been “totally destroyed,” while officials in St Vincent and the Grenadines reported significant property damage and at least one death.
In Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada, most of the homes and buildings reportedly suffered extensive damage.
Yesterday, Ms Knight said Jamaica’s southwestern parishes were the hardest hit by the storm.
“The parishes of Clarendon, St Elizabeth and Manchester were adversely affected and unfortunately, that means that those persons who reside in those parishes will have a lot of damages and power outages that they’re experiencing,” she said. Sixty-five per cent of the island was reportedly without power up to press time.
“Parts of the island had considerable rain, and with that came landslides and flooding. Parts of the island had significant wind, and with that came downed power lines and trees, and then there are parts of the islands that had a combination of both, which had its own level of catastrophe.”
Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has pledged the country’s support for Caribbean nations affected by Hurricane Beryl.
Relief supplies were sent to Grenada this week and will soon be delivered to St Vincent and the Grenadines, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell.
Meanwhile, press secretary Keishla Adderley said Mr Davis met with CARICOM leaders yesterday to discuss recovery efforts and financing options.
She said deploying officers to hard-hit islands is possible but must be discussed and finalised.
Hurricane Beryl weakened to a Category 2 storm yesterday as it headed toward the Yucatan Peninsula.
Comments
ExposedU2C 5 months, 2 weeks ago
The Tribune would have us belief all 30 of the airlifted students were living in the building shown in the photo to this article. Did The Tribune's chief reporter who wrote this article even bother to inquire about the total cost of this airlift which will presumably be borne by Bahamian taxpayers?
All Bahamian taxpayers should tip their hat to the three students who chose to remain in Jamaica.
Will the 30 airlifted students soon be begging to be re-airlifted back to Jamaica at the Bahamian taxpayers' expense?
What is so special about these airlifted students, privileged to be studying abroad, when we literally have hundreds and hundreds of unemployed, homeless and hungry Bahamians living on our streets today?
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