Rare Presto2 Posted July 3 #1 Share Posted July 3 (edited) Have just been catching up with the news regarding hurricane Beryl as it moves across the Caribbean. So sad to read that some of the beautiful islands we visited in January have been battered. St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Barbados to name a few. The poor people don't have much in terms of material things so it must leave the islands in desperate need. Thoughts go to those affected. Edited July 3 by Presto2 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincslady Posted July 3 #2 Share Posted July 3 We may moan about our weather, but rarely have anything really awful to cope with (flooding excepted recently), but sadly the spots in the world where the worst things happen seem mostly to be inhabited by some of the poorest people. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Presto2 Posted July 3 Author #3 Share Posted July 3 We remember St Vincent as it seemed very poor but it was one of the most memorable days. The people were delightful and it is so sad to here that so much damage has been caused. In many ways we don't know how lucky we are in the UK. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tring Posted July 3 #4 Share Posted July 3 (edited) We have been thinking the same, but as tourism is a big earner there, any damage which affects that can have an effect on the local people for some time to come, financially. Although not everyone works in tourism, it must have a knock on effect in the community to an extent. Seems like a bad hurricane season is expected, with this (I think I heard) being the worst June Hurricane on record. As the seas have warmed up a lot this year that energy will likely form more bad storms. Just when we are booked for two trans Atlantics in September as well as another two in Jan/Feb, but we can hardly complain about that, at least we have mid ship cabins. Edited July 3 by tring 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Presto2 Posted July 3 Author #5 Share Posted July 3 Have just read on the BBC that on one island .. think it is St Vincent .. there are no buildings left standing. So terribly sad. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted July 3 #6 Share Posted July 3 The timing of the hurricane is not going to help. There are two more storms on more or less the same trajectory immediately behind which are quite high wind tropical storms so clean up will be hindered. Looking at Grenada this morning the destruction is fairly comprehensive and even as an island with more affluent residents it will take a long time. The islands associated with the UK will be hindered for assistance by the general election tomorrow as well. In 2017 St Vincent was one of islands the worst hit by Irma and Harvey along with Barbuda being destroyed and parts of Antigua badly damaged. The UK was responsible for assisting and was on the ground for a couple of weeks then they left. St Maarten, flattened had Dutch and French assistance, the Dutch rebuilt fast not so the French. Unfortunately recovery in places like St Vincent and Dominica has been very slow. P&O ran the 2017/18 Caribbean season despite the destruction and held charity events onboard the ships. The islands welcomed the passengers with open arms and those of us who didn't cancel could not help but be humbled by their reception. Itineraries were changed - St Maarten had no jetty left for instance - prices were slashed but we went and the islands were overjoyed. It's very early in hurricane season, more tropical storms and hurricanes will undoubtedly affect the islands. Hopefully the P&O ships will still visit and those of us travelling will spend lots of cash to aid the islands' economies. If 2017 showed anything it's that our spending ashore is absolutely vital to help recovery. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanlyon Posted July 3 #7 Share Posted July 3 1 hour ago, Presto2 said: Have just read on the BBC that on one island .. think it is St Vincent .. there are no buildings left standing. So terribly sad. It's Union Island just off St Vincent. Been there a few times when on sailing holidays. Very sad. It hits Jamaica next. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Presto2 Posted July 3 Author #8 Share Posted July 3 8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said: The timing of the hurricane is not going to help. There are two more storms on more or less the same trajectory immediately behind which are quite high wind tropical storms so clean up will be hindered. Looking at Grenada this morning the destruction is fairly comprehensive and even as an island with more affluent residents it will take a long time. The islands associated with the UK will be hindered for assistance by the general election tomorrow as well. In 2017 St Vincent was one of islands the worst hit by Irma and Harvey along with Barbuda being destroyed and parts of Antigua badly damaged. The UK was responsible for assisting and was on the ground for a couple of weeks then they left. St Maarten, flattened had Dutch and French assistance, the Dutch rebuilt fast not so the French. Unfortunately recovery in places like St Vincent and Dominica has been very slow. P&O ran the 2017/18 Caribbean season despite the destruction and held charity events onboard the ships. The islands welcomed the passengers with open arms and those of us who didn't cancel could not help but be humbled by their reception. Itineraries were changed - St Maarten had no jetty left for instance - prices were slashed but we went and the islands were overjoyed. It's very early in hurricane season, more tropical storms and hurricanes will undoubtedly affect the islands. Hopefully the P&O ships will still visit and those of us travelling will spend lots of cash to aid the islands' economies. If 2017 showed anything it's that our spending ashore is absolutely vital to help recovery. We would certainly want to go and support them. Lovely people. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Presto2 Posted July 3 Author #9 Share Posted July 3 1 minute ago, jeanlyon said: It's Union Island just off St Vincent. Been there a few times when on sailing holidays. Very sad. It hits Jamaica next. I used to watch the news when these places were affected and was obviously touched by the plight of those affected. Must admit, now we have visited it seems to make it more real and it hits home more ... 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosapphire Posted July 3 #10 Share Posted July 3 5 hours ago, Megabear2 said: P&O ran the 2017/18 Caribbean season despite the destruction and held charity events onboard the ships. The islands welcomed the passengers with open arms and those of us who didn't cancel could not help but be humbled by their reception. Itineraries were changed - St Maarten had no jetty left for instance - prices were slashed but we went and the islands were overjoyed. Likewaise Saga - apparently there had been much head office discussion, but the final decision was that the islanders desperately needed the revenue and visits would start as soon as it would be safe for the passengers (albeit a very restricted tour itinerary). We were on the Saga Sapphire February 2018. There were some tours running, and I think we arrived a day or so after a P&O ship - Captain made a point of telling us that P&O and Saga were the only cruise ships that were still visiting, and the shore teams pretty much ordered everyone to buy souvenirs (whether we wanted them or not..). Like P&O, there were collections and fund-raising events on board. It was a very humbling experience. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Hill Posted July 3 #11 Share Posted July 3 For destruction on this scale you have to go back to 2005 and hurricane Emily, the islands took a significant amount of time to recover from that storm and after Beryl further storms may hinder work. Whether h the islands will be in a position to take cruise ships from November Isiah is probably to early to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Presto2 Posted July 3 Author #12 Share Posted July 3 2 hours ago, nosapphire said: Likewaise Saga - apparently there had been much head office discussion, but the final decision was that the islanders desperately needed the revenue and visits would start as soon as it would be safe for the passengers (albeit a very restricted tour itinerary). We were on the Saga Sapphire February 2018. There were some tours running, and I think we arrived a day or so after a P&O ship - Captain made a point of telling us that P&O and Saga were the only cruise ships that were still visiting, and the shore teams pretty much ordered everyone to buy souvenirs (whether we wanted them or not..). Like P&O, there were collections and fund-raising events on board. It was a very humbling experience. A lovely post. We would hope that P&O do the same thing again. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Eglesbrech Posted July 3 #13 Share Posted July 3 We have a small, extremely tacky Christmas bauble that we purchased off a bath towel in front of ruined shop in the Caribbean many years ago. It has pride of place every year on our tree, it’s a clear plastic bauble with sand and tiny shells inside. I moan constantly about our rotten, wet, cold weather here in Scotland however it has never (as yet) flattened towns and left whole communities homeless and hungry. We paid a lot (well above the value) for the bauble to support people who had nothing left. I am humbled every year when I place it on the tree, one of the few things that reflect the true meaning. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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