It was a dark and stormy night … I’ve always wanted to start a story like that. But seriously, we weathered the storm like a boss. Tobago was prepared, despite the short notice.
On Friday, 28th June, 2024, the weather channels were predicting that a tropical wave to our east was likely to develop into a hurricane, once it passed the Windward Islands. However, in no time, we were facing a category 2 hurricane named Beryl, heading straight for us. By Sunday, it was at cat 4 strength, and we were on a hurricane watch. Trinidad was on a tropical storm watch.
I realised that the winds would be coming from the west, assuming the eye passed north of Tobago. This is the opposite to how storms normally operate. The media never warned people about this. So, I cleared every single thing from my west-facing gallery that usually gets no weather. My apartment was jammed with gallery furniture, plants, wall decorations and my new sunshades. I filled the bathtub and several water bottles, cooked up a storm (pun intended) and settled down to ride it out. It was an anxious and fearful time.
My yoga teacher had previously moved her Monday class to Sunday because she was travelling to Trinidad on Monday. Her trip was cancelled since no ferries or flights were operating during the storm. We decided not to have a physical class at 6pm on Sunday; everyone was being asked to be in place for Hurricane Beryl by 6pm. Instead, the yoga group independently chanted a specific mantra designed to protect us and the island.
That evening was eerily quiet. No breeze, no sound of birds, and no partying nearby. It was island crashers weekend when hordes of young people come to Tobago to celebrate the end of exams, and is typically very noisy. I watched the news, tracking the hurricane. I felt strangely calm after my yoga chanting. Eventually, I went to bed around 11pm.
I was awakened by furious rain lashing my roof at about 1:30am. Somehow, I went back to sleep until about 7am. When I looked out, my gallery was awash. My patio doors were soaked. My kitchen entrance is where the winds normally hit the strongest, but this was now the lee of the storm. So, I was able to go outside there and could see no damage to my compound, not even debris. See picture below taken after the storm.
I never lost electricity as I had assumed would happen. TEMA (Tobago Emergency Management Agency) provided constant updates on the storm on TV, complete with reports on several power outages on the island due to trees falling, roofs blowing off, landslides, roads blocked, etc. It turned out that Beryl had wobbled to a more northern path, and had downgraded to a cat 3 storm briefly when she passed Tobago (see hurricane tracking image above). That saved the island from far worse destruction. I know there is a scientific explanation, but it seemed like a miracle.
By midday, the rain had reduced to a drizzle. I play online Bridge (BBO) with a Canadian group at 1pm on a Monday. I warned them that I may have no internet, but it turned out that I was able to play. The breeze was now coming from the south as we got the back end of Beryl. She had returned to a cat 4 hurricane with her eye aimed directly at Grenada. The tiny island of Carriacou suffered a direct hit. Beryl accelerated to a cat 5 hurricane soon afterwards.
The weather improved here in Tobago, so we gathered for our yoga class at 6pm at the Kariwak Hotel. Driving there, I observed some tree debris on the road but nothing too bad. In fact, I was amazed at how good everything looked, considering that a hurricane passed through here just hours ago. We had a lovely class, giving thanks for being spared and praying for the other islands that were now being battered by this ‘extremely dangerous’ hurricane. Afterwards, I realised that we took a chance, because the island was still under a storm watch until the following morning. That night, we had a bout of high winds again, presumably from the outer bands of Beryl as she departed.
Tobago had no reported injuries, though there were several homes damaged. By the end of the next day, almost all areas had power restored and roads cleared. I am very impressed with how well the country handled this emergency. Compare this to when Category 3 Hurricane Flora devastated the island in 1963, damaging most homes and killing at least 18 people.
It was a surreal experience, my first official hurricane. I was in England for the terrible, unexpected storm in October 1987 with hurricane force winds that devastated that country. Far worse than what Tobago endured with Hurricane Beryl. We got away … this time. This is only the start of the hurricane season with experts predicting it to be a highly active one.
Beryl has broken lots of records: the first major hurricane in June, the first to start so far east, the earliest category 5 hurricane in a season, first storm before September to go from tropical depression to major hurricane in under 48 hours, and so on. As I write this, Grenada and St. Vincent & the Grenadines are being sent tons of relief supplies from Trinidad and Guyana to help the people of those islands recover from the fury of Hurricane Beryl. Jamaica was trashed last night and The Cayman Islands are suffering right now. Many people have died. The hurricane is then heading for the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. This is one for the history books. Is this to be the new normal?
If you wish to help towards relief efforts, I recommend that you donate to the Rotary Disaster Relief Fund: https://donate.rotarydistrict7030.org/events/district-7030-disaster-relief-fund
This is an experienced organisation with international resources, particularly for rebuilding devastated communities. My concern with the flotilla of boats heading towards Carriacou and Union island with lots of donated items, is that there may be no processes in place to receive the goods and distribute them properly. Rotary will ensure that those in need will get helped.
Tobago was lucky. We weathered the storm very well, but we should be prepared to be tested again.
