Op-Ed: The unseen toll of Hurricane Beryl: Climate Change and public health in the Caribbean

While gustily blowing and pummeling into homes in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in July 2024, Hurricane Beryl was just a constant and rude reminder of how climate change has
surrounded them menacingly. For many people, this was not a usual storm but a sign of what will come in the future as global warming progresses.

Brooklyn heaved with anticipation in the breast of Marie Santiago, a hardworking dental hygienist, and she waited on the word from Jose, who confronted Beryl. Of all people, she could not get to him for more than a day, her heart burdened with grief. When communication finally resumed, the reality hit hard: Unfortunately for Jose, his home was destroyed by flood and the evidence of the Climate Change that we keep talking about but rarely take action about (Clim, 2024). This story is one of many similar stories that communities throughout the Caribbean can tell after experiencing the effects of powerful storms.

Hurricane Beryl’s devastation highlighted an urgent truth: Our health systems are grossly ill-equipped to deal with the consequences of climate change. About three health facilities ceased to exist in 2024 out of 49 health facilities in St. Vincent, while many of them were significantly affected by the impacts of the storm and its aftermath (Allen et al., 2024). Stolen or damaged refrigerators and spoiled vaccines affected essential HC services, especially in the Southern Grenadines.” The islands’ free water was withheld when rainwater gathering structures were flooded, and waterborne infections could persist following storms.

WHO has chosen to capture the connection between climate change and health risks as a disturbing reality. The conditions for a hurricane like Beryl are more frequent and intense during warmer temperatures as the hurricanes feed off heat from the warmer seas. Recent research sources have supported theories stating that such hurricane enhancements, including Beryl, were brought about by global warming. Should we stand idly, the storms to come will be even stronger, and Caribbean communities will continue to have less access to proper health care.

Corrosive resilience makes Caribbean people stand tall, but it must be matched by action from our governments and international organizations. There was the rise of humanitarianism to support the affected community, as evidenced by the following pics as one way through, which such mutual support was demonstrated when Bruce became active (King, 2024). This response must become a systematic approach to climate change adaptation and control. We need measures that safeguard vulnerable people and provide fair health care and other resources before the next storm because what we have is inadequate.

We stand at a crossroads. In several ways, the current story about climate change has to change from being an impersonal event to an event that kills people. Let us shift from emissions and temperatures to lives and homes, from constituents focused on the future election-night maps paint, from the moment when politics can be about rebuilding the hundreds of thousands of lives that the present disaster — ignores or contributes to — has already taken and will take.

According to Dr. Karen Polson of PAHO, we need research to prove that climate-resilient health systems deserve additional funding (PAHO, 2024).
In my role as a public health worker, I appeal to Caribbean leaders and others in places like Brooklyn to be the voice of change. Perhaps now we can demand climate-ready infrastructure, funding for services that address mental health after trauma, and programs that prioritize a healthier nation. Hurricane Beryl has highlighted the weaknesses in our emergency management systems; it is our responsibility to Fortify them before the next storm hits.

Marie’s story is what we are fighting for and against climate change alike. The storm is over, but the battle for health equity and resilience continues. We should remember from this
destruction that now is the moment to act. Join us to create a healthier, safer Caribbean where hurricane stories become success stories.
As we stand, burnt, instead of getting up as mere survivors, let us stand up for our tomorrow.