Published: 14:19, July 31, 2024
Grenada estimates damages from Hurricane Beryl at up to a third of economy
By Reuters
Palm trees wilt after being uprooted by Hurricane Beryl in St. Patrick, Grenada, on July 2, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said on Tuesday that early estimates suggest that losses from deadly Hurricane Beryl, which hit the Caribbean earlier this month, likely total as much as a third of economic output.

The small Caribbean island nation had a gross domestic product (GDP) of about $1.3 billion last year, according to World Bank data. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan caused Grenada to suffer losses that doubled its GDP.

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Mitchell cautioned that the estimate was still preliminary, and that besides devastating homes and farms, Beryl had wrought destruction on electricity grids, mangrove forests, water infrastructure and the fishing sector.