\n<\/p>\n
Mr. Mitchell said that many people on Grenada\u2019s main island had lost their homes, but that the destruction was far worse on Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Officials were still trying to assess the extent of the damage on the two islands, particularly to the power grid and water supply.<\/p>\n
Grenada, like other Caribbean nations, gets most of its drinking water from rainwater harvesting, involving drains on roofs that lead to storage vessels. Terrence Smith, the head of the country\u2019s water agency, said the storm damage was not expected to immediately cause a life-threatening shortage on Carriacou and Petite Martinique.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that is very unlikely,\u201d Mr. Smith said on Tuesday. \u201cIf it is correct that most houses have lost their roofs, then they can\u2019t harvest rainwater anymore. But many of these households have weeks of storage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, a recent dry spell has led many households on the islands to depend on desalination plants<\/a> for water, and Mr. Smith said the plants on Carriacou and Petite Martinique were \u201cprobably negatively impacted by the hurricane.\u201d That system had been under strain<\/a> well before the hurricane arrived.<\/p>\n Beryl has set records as the first Category 4 hurricane, and then the first Category 5 storm, to form in the Atlantic Ocean so early in the season. A recent study found<\/a> that with ocean temperatures rising, hurricanes in the Atlantic have become likelier to grow from a weak storm into a major one of Category 3 or higher within just 24 hours.<\/p>\n Mr. Mitchell called Beryl a direct result of global warming, saying that Grenada and countries like it were on the frontline of the climate crisis. \u201cWe are no longer prepared to accept that it\u2019s OK for us to constantly suffer significant, clearly demonstrated loss and damage arising from climatic events and be expected to rebuild year after year while the countries that are responsible for creating this situation \u2014 and exacerbating this situation \u2014 sit idly by,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jovan Johnston contributed reporting from Kingston, Jamaica, and Daphne Ewing-Chow from Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n