By: Staff Writer
November 15, 2024
One woman is dead after flooding deluged most of Grenada this week prompting leaders to react.
Grenada police confirmed on Wednesday that the body of a woman had been discovered in a vehicle that had been swept away by floods caused by excessive rainfall on the island on Tuesday.
Head of the Community Relations Department, Inspector Maureen John, said that officers are now investigating the matter to determine whether the woman had been a victim of the floods. He said police are unable to confirm that her death was directly related to the flooding.
The Met Office at the Maurice Bishop International Airport said that 69 millimetres of rain had been recorded during the six-hour period on Tuesday and that it is equivalent to one month’s rainfall.
Meanwhile, the Grenada Electricity Services Limited advised about outages in relation to the inclement weather. Grenlec said its team is working to restore service to all affected customers.
The National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) also advised that due to the recent inclement weather, all dams are currently experiencing blockages, and it has received reports of damaged pipelines caused by landslides. NAWASA said these issues are impacting its ability to maintain a consistent water supply across affected areas.
Customers with access to water have been encouraged to store an adequate supply for essential needs until NAWASA’s teams can conduct a full assessment and begin restoration efforts.
Meanwhile, several Caricom leaders, including Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, Caricom Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett, both weighed in on the flooding
Reacting to the rampant levels of flooding, Mitchell, who is also the sitting chair of Caricom, told Guardian Media, “It is just testimony to what we are talking about. You can have high, unpredictable, and erratic, but also highly dangerous weather patterns that are significant that we have to prepare for and respond. Again, we have to be doing our best in those circumstances to treat and manage with this on an ongoing basis. So it’s just the new reality, the new norm that we have to live it.”
Barnett also pointed to climate finance as a means of helping the region stave off the effects of climate change. The Caricom Secretary-General, who also spoke with Guardian Media, said, “For us to address the impact of climate change, there is a need for financing that we don’t have. Every single one of our countries in Caricom but in the wider SIDS have very large debt burdens already—much of this debt related to dealing with the impact of climate change. We don’t know that’s what it is, but now it’s costing more to build a road because you are engineering for the impact of climate change.”