The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) mobilizes emergency operations to assist communities impacted by Hurricane Beryl. As the storm rapidly intensified and moved westward in the Caribbean, it landed on Carriacou, Grenada as a Category 4 storm with life-threatening winds of 140 mph on July 1, 2024. According to local authorities, an estimated 200,000 people in Grenada, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines (SVG) islands have been affected. The catastrophic storm continued to pound Jamaica on July 3 with massive life-threatening flooding and mudslides, prompting the country’s prime minister to declare the region a disaster zone. Beryl then battered the Yucatan Peninsula on July 4, toppling trees, causing massive power outages and damaging coastal resorts and towns.

“These are challenging times in the Caribbean. ADRA, the global humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, is committed to supporting affected communities for as long as necessary.  We are grateful for the exceptional support of Adventist church volunteers and local congregations that make it possible for us to respond promptly,” says  David Poloche, regional director of ADRA Inter-American Division.

ADRA is actively coordinating emergency response efforts to assist the most vulnerable households in the Caribbean countries affected by Beryl, including Mexico, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Jamaica. Initial relief operations will likely include food kits, hot meals, and cash assistance.

“ADRA has been mobilizing emergency operations even when Beryl became a tropical depression on June 28.  We deployed teams to start prepping and pre-positioning emergency supplies, says Elián Giaccarini, ADRA Inter-Amerian Division regional emergency management coordinator. “We are merely at the start of what could become one of the most active hurricane seasons in history. We recognize that our teams will be tested, but we are ready to tackle the humanitarian challenge that lies ahead. We need everyone’s support. Please keep our Caribbean communities and ADRA in your prayers as we begin to assist the region to recover and rebuild.”

United Nations reports indicate that entire communities have been flooded, properties destroyed, and livelihoods wiped out. Caribbean emergency management officials in the affected islands have opened more than 100 shelters to provide safe refuge to thousands of displaced residents

ADRA will continue to provide updates on Hurricane Beryl and relief operations as the storm moves into the Gulf of Mexico.

The original article was published on the ADRA International website.