by Linda Straker
- UN Response Plan to raise at least US$5 million to address urgent needs of 24,000 people in Grenada
- St Patrick, Carriacou and Petite Martinique declared disaster zones until 30 September
- Disaster zone declaration aimed at unlocking funds to assist with rebuilding and recovery
24,000 people in Grenada are in urgent need following Hurricane Beryl, according to the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator’s Office in Barbados. The UN will be launching a response aimed at raising US$5 million for Grenada.
The plan, which will be launched on Thursday, 11 July 2024, seeks to raise US$9 million for Grenada, St Vincent, and the Grenadines, which were hit by Beryl. Though the mainlands of the countries were hit hard, the hardest-hit areas were the Grenadine islands, which are governed under the administration of both islands — in Grenada’s case, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
The first category 5 hurricane for the 2024 Atlantic season, Hurricane Beryl struck Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines as a category 4 hurricane on 1 July, causing death, severe damage and destruction to homes and infrastructure, as well as massive loss of services and livelihoods, and several deaths recorded.
Government has not yet released the early assessment regarding financial and economic loss.
The parishes of St Patrick as well as Carriacou and Petite Martinique have been declared disaster zones until 30 September. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said that the declaration is aimed at unlocking funds to assist with the rebuilding and recovery of these areas in the aftermath of the hurricane.
“The plan, which seeks to address urgent needs of some 24,000 people in Grenada and 19,000 in St Vincent and the Grenadines, is based on preliminary estimates and funding projections, which will be reassessed in the short term,” said the invitation to the launch of the Response Plan.
The invitation said that exact numbers for the islands remain a challenge, as assessments are ongoing amid damage to logistics, power and communications services, as well as power cuts.
The goal of the Response Plan is to raise at least US$5 million for Grenada and US$4million for St Vincent and the Grenadines to assist approximately 43,000 people urgently needing humanitarian aid.
