In the Eye of the Storm: Staff Stories on Braving Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean

​No one expected a category 5 hurricane this early, though the Caribbean was already bracing for an active hurricane season. Hurricane Beryl approached the Caribbean in June, just as the hurricane season began; this was a rare occurrence.

The timing of the hurricane's approach was critical. The new Crisis Preparedness and Response toolkit had recently been approved, with the Climate Resilient Debt Clause (CRDC) at its core. Designed to help small, vulnerable nations defer loan payments in the wake of natural disasters, the clause was ready to be rolled out—but had not yet been signed by any country.

With Beryl intensifying from "bad weather" to a Category 4 hurricane in a very short period, World Bank colleagues found themselves racing against time.

Here are firsthand accounts of colleagues who, against all odds, accomplished the seemingly impossible—signing the critical debt clauses, right in the midst of the storm.

"Shifting Gears"—Federico Baechli, Sr. Operations Officer (Country Representative for Barbados, Belize, and Caribbean Overseas Countries & Territories)

My mission to Barbados was about "shifting gears". I arrived on the island to welcome Ajay Banga's visit. Within 48 hours, the focus shifted entirely to the approaching Hurricane Beryl and to a mad scramble to get the new Debt Clause signed before impact.

I spent most of my time in meetings with the Prime Minister's teams working on the review of the CRDC. Beryl was expected to make landfall the following day. On Sunday evening, hours before Beryl arrived, Barbados signed the CRDC—the first country to do so!

When we awoke on Monday morning, there was no power or water. The south coast had flooded and there was structural damage to buildings. 240 fishing vessels were damaged or destroyed and the southern portion of the Bridgetown Port was damaged.

After signing the CRDC with Barbados, my focus shifted to securing Belize's signature of the CRDC—it too could have been in Beryl's path within days. By Monday afternoon, Belize had signed the clause; no small feat given there was no power or wi-fi at my hotel. My poor iPhone has never worked so hard. Within a week, we also agreed with Barbados to commence preparation of a $65m emergency recovery and response project to help the country recover from Beryl.

"Pray For Us"—Ricardo Habalian, Sr. Operations Officer (Country Representative for Grenada, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

I woke up at 7 a.m. on Sunday, June 30, with a phone call from Grenada's Director of Economic Development. Sounding clearly worried, he informed me that Hurricane Beryl was likely to strike Grenada the next day and they wanted our help to prepare the drawdown of their CAT DDO, a disaster contingent financing instrument. "Pray for us" he said before ending the call.

In the difficult days that followed, we worked around the clock to sign the Climate Resilient Debt Clause amendments, enabling governments to suspend repayments of their World Bank credits in the event of a disaster.

For Grenada, the CAT DDO contingent financing draw-down for $20m was triggered, which the country is now using to respond to the damage.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which suffered damages estimated at around 19 percent of GDP, became the first country to trigger this clause and release much-needed liquidity for response efforts. We are also preparing an Emergency Response Project for $63m to respond to and recover from the disaster.

"The hurricane was following me"—Penny Bowen, Sr. Communications Officer

Soon after arriving in Barbados, colleagues and I were advised that our mission was canceled and we should leave the country as soon as we could.

I made it on to the last flight of the day, prior to the airport closing for several days. It was a strange feeling—being Barbadian, being there on the mission but, based in Jamaica, and having to leave my family and friends behind.

Back in Jamaica, I learned that the now Category 5 hurricane was heading to Jamaica next. My manager joked that the hurricane was following me.

During this time, I saw my colleagues in action—one colleague who remained in Barbados was working around the clock to have the new Climate Resilience Debt Clause signed before the hurricane arrived. Others, supporting other Caribbean countries in the path, were doing the same for several items in the new toolkit - all to support these vulnerable countries. Our WhatsApp chat took on a life of its own.

Personally, it was the first time I weathered a hurricane alone. Preparations were all my responsibility now and I was thankful management gave us time to get ready and constantly checked in.

Kingston, where our offices are based, was spared much of Beryl's impact, but other parts of Jamaica were impacted. Being from the Caribbean and seeing many colleagues jump in to help, left me with nothing but pride.

" While everyone is panicking, we are planning"—Keisha Gebre, Security Specialist

I was in Barbados preparing for Ajay Banga's visit. When we heard that the mission was canceled and the storm was approaching, I raced to the airport, but all flights were already booked. I returned to the hotel to ride out the storm.

The hotel took precautions by moving guests to safer rooms. As a Security Specialist, while I wished I could leave, I was also keen to observe how the island managed emergencies.

Hurricane Beryl hit us causing significant damage and flooding. Our hotel was without power for two days, and though the generators weren't used during the storm, we had power in the dining area afterward, allowing us to charge phones and use laptops.

Meanwhile, Beryl's path shifted toward Jamaica—my duty station and the Caribbean hub for the World Bank. I was responsible for ensuring that both our office and staff were prepared for the potential impact. From Barbados, I coordinated preparations, sending out notifications, answering staff questions, making necessary calls, at the same time answering calls from worried family and friends.

In our line of work, one of the most important aspects is staying calm under pressure—"while everyone is panicking, we are planning."

Fortunately, the hurricane deviated slightly, sparing Jamaica from a direct hit, but the southern parts of the island experienced the worst of the storm, with flooding, severe roof damage, and downed trees and power lines.

Results achieved:

Six CRDCs were signed over the weekend during Hurricane Beryl by the following countries:

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines
• Barbados
• Saint Lucia
• Grenada
• Belize
• The Bahamas

Two emergency operations prepared and going to the Board:

• SVG's Emergency Response operation for $63m
• Barbados Emergency Response operation for $65m

[tweetquote:[tweetText=The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, supported by the World Bank and other donors, provided over $85m in insurance payouts to the region in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. ,tweetData=WBCaribbean,tweetHash=]]