Hurricane Beryl―the strongest hurricane in the history of the Atlantic in the month of June―formed on 30 June 2024 as a Category-4 hurricane.

By 02 July, Hurricane Beryl had impacted several island countries in the southwestern Caribbean that include Barbados, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines―causing widespread infrastructure damage, power outages, and disruption to water supplies and telecommunications.

After hitting Jamaica as a deadly Category 5 storm on 03 July, Hurricane Beryl moved through the western Caribbean and impacted the Cayman Islands as a Category 3 storm with gale force winds on 04 July.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is coordinating the response efforts, supported by National Emergency Management Coordinators.

Though not officially activated, the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) deployed an inter-agency ICT coordinator from 03 July to 10 August 2024 to support the preparedness and response efforts of the regional National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs).

Alongside two WFP Standby Partners from Ericsson Response, the interagency ICT team implemented the following:

• Set-up of satellite connectivity for CDEMA at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Kingstown in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
• Set up of shared internet services at three government/shelter locations on Union Island in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.
• Set-up of connectivity services at the local government office (including the mayor’s office) in Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica.

The systems will be decommissioned in agreement with the local internet providers once they have recovered their services. The equipment recovery will be completed by Ericsson Response and with agreement and support from the WFP Multi Country Office (MCO).