As local and regional disaster officials continue to monitor the coordination of relief to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and Grenada, efforts are being made to control the number of relief supplies reaching the impacted states.

These two territories, along with some of the Grenadine islands, namely SVG’s Canouan, Union Island and Mayreau, and Grenada’s Carriacou and Petit Martinique were extensively damaged by Hurricane Beryl earlier this week.

For individuals and groups interested in contributing to the national relief efforts, NODS can be contacted to help get these items to the respective disaster offices.

During a virtual meeting on Thursday among the CDEMA heads and national disaster coordinators from several islands, it was noted that too much relief reaching both territories can create logistical issues especially if these items are not on the needs list issued by the impacted states.

As such, a list of relief items has been published and can be viewed on the NODS facebook and Instagram pages which will be updated as assessments and response operations continue. These items include non-perishable food, water, toiletries, baby and adult pampers, wipes, baby formula, cots and sleeping blankets, pillows, chain saw among others.

The Grenada government has stated that no personal relief items will be accepted until July 31. Cash donations can be made to the disaster relief fund for both St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada or through CDEMA, where an account has also been set up.

CDEMA has been requested to provide support in operations, rapid needs assessment, debris management, water and sanitation and teams have already begun arriving on the affected islands.

Along with St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, several other regional countries were affected by Hurricane Beryl. They are Jamaica, Barbados and St Lucia with minimal damage in Dominica.