Hurricane Beryl's destruction hits home in Brooklyn's Little Caribbean. Here's what's being done to help.
NEW YORK -- Historic Hurricane Beryl was barreling through the Caribbean on Tuesday after devastating parts of Grenada on Monday.
CBS New York went to Little Caribbean in Brooklyn, where family ties to the island chain are strong.
Trees were swept away by 9-foot surges and winds of 150 mph ripped off roofs, as the Category 4 storm thrashed Grenada and made a direct hit on the tiny island of Carriacou.
"There's no place to hide," said McDonald Romaine, who is the owner of Little Caribbean mainstay Labay Market. "Very emotional, not too good, but I'm trying to hold up."
Beryl stole two lives on the island, one a relative of Romaine's. His sister, Josephine, still lives there, and for more than a day he did not know how she fared. Finally, after someone shared satellite service, he connected with her.
"She wanted everybody to know that it is so horrifying she wouldn't like her worst enemy to go through that," Romaine said.
Beryl's size and intensity baffles scientists
Phil Klotzbach, a senior research assistant who heads up the Colorado State University seasonal hurricane forecast, said Beryl is bad omen for the 2024 hurricane season.
"Beryl was the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record, earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, the strongest hurricane to impact Grenada on record," Klotzbach said. "These storms that normally we associate more with August and September, to get them this early in July is, you know, not a great sign for the rest of the season."
Unusually warm Atlantic waters fueled Beryl's intensification. Now, residents of Grenada must deal with her aftermath while Jamaica, which has many natives who call Little Caribbean home, appears to be next on the storm's list.
Many mobilizing to help
Shelley Worrell, founder of I Am CaribBeing, a venture designed to showcase Caribbean culture, said she's working with Romaine to help the island nation.
"We'll do whatever we can to make sure they get the supplies and resources they need," Worrell said. "We're just about 24 hours in so, really, first and foremost, just trying to listen, what is the damage, what is needed."
Clothing and building supplies top the list. Worrell said soon all New Yorkers can look to I Am CaribBeing's Instagram page and find out how they, too, can help Grenada rebuild.
Everybody is feeling it no matter where they are," Worrell said.