The aftermath of Hurricane Beryl brought back memories of Hurricane Ivan, which ravaged the island of Grenada on September 7, 2004, as a strong Category 3 storm.
Ivan was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season.
Ivan’s path became catastrophic when it struck Grenada. Power and communication were cut off owing to fallen lines. Some 90 per cent of homes in Grenada were damaged.
An unknown number of convicts briefly escaped from the 17th-century Richmond Hill stone prison, which was destroyed.
A UN spokesman said every major building in St George's, the capital, had suffered structural damage.
The Point Salines International Airport (PSIA) was closed because of strewn debris and damage to the navigational aids, runway lighting systems and the control tower and equipment.
Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, whose own home was flattened, relocated his office to the British naval ship HMS Richmond, which commissioned an on-ship transmitter for the Grenada Broadcasting Network to allow the prime minister to communicate with the people.
[caption id="attachment_1095501" align="alignnone" width="1023"] This photo of Hurricane Ivan is taken from the International Space Station as it passed over the eye of the storm on September 11, 2004. -[/caption]
HMS Richmond also provided medical supplies to the general hospital and restored its power.
"We are terribly devastated...It is beyond imagination," Mitchell said.
He also confirmed that the prison escapees included 17 people who were jailed for killings carried out during the 1983 Marxist coup against the government of Maurice Bishop, which sparked a US invasion.
The Associated Press reported that medical students from the US attending St George’s University (SGU) were fearful of marauders and armed themselves with knives and sticks.
Nicole Organ, a 21-year-old veterinary student from Toronto, said she saw bands of men carrying machetes looting a hardware store.
Sonya Lazarevic, 36, from New York, said, "We don't feel safe."
Commissioner Bedaau said every Grenadian police station had been damaged, hindering efforts to control looting. Police were trying to set up a temporary post at St George's fish market.
TT and other Caribbean countries pledged troops to assist with search and rescue and peacekeeping operations.
The day after the hurricane, I was summoned to a meeting at the office of the Prime Minister. In attendance were Minister Lenny Saith and the Prime Minister’s permanent secretary.
PM Mitchell said the US Ambassador had contacted him and requested TT government’s urgent assistance in evacuating the hundreds of stranded American students attending SGU. I was designated to carry out the evacuation.
I had recently completed a course with the University of Southern California in disaster management and felt prepared for the task.
A baseline audit of PSIA was required to determine the minimum requirements for safe landings and takeoffs by BWIA 50-seater
