Hours after the passage of Hurricane Beryl, Tobagonians joined together to restore their community. Some were still without water, internet, and electricity. The western side of Tobago came out barely touched. But that wasn’t the case for communities along the north and east sides of the island.
The Tobago House of Assembly and Tobago Emergency Management Agency are yet to quantify the damage. While both agencies led restoration efforts, Tobagonians carried on with their lives as if nothing had happened, except for one man who recalled how his trauma from Hurricane Flora resurfaced when Beryl made landfall.
Ulrich Kerr vividly remembered the devastation of Hurricane Flora, which he experienced first-hand in 1963. And with the passage of Beryl, he said he has now survived two hurricanes.
“I know what a hurricane is. I knew what to expect, but it didn’t hit us as hard as Flora did,” he stated.
Despite being taught in school that his area was outside the hurricane belt, Kerr found himself unprepared for the storm as a child.
“I was in Scarborough and didn’t know what was happening. We weren’t expecting a hurricane. My brother and I were at home, having a good time, when we realised the eye of the hurricane was upon us. That’s when the drama started,” he recounted.
The experience was traumatic. “I could have died, but my youth and my elder brother helped me. We didn’t know how to act. We sought shelter in the wrong place,” Kerr admitted. The memories of 1963 have stayed with him. “What happened in 1963 never came out of my mind. I always remember that time. I would hear some people say they would like to experience a hurricane. Don’t try to experience that.”
Having learned from his past, Kerr said he knows how to prepare and what to expect. Reflecting on the aftermath of Flora, he recalled a gruelling journey on foot from Delaford to L’Anse Fourmi for help.
“When I got home and looked across the main road, all I saw was dirt, no trees. The wind took everything.”
Along the rest of Tobago’s north and east, minor landslides, fallen trees, small boulders scattered across the street, torn-down utility lines, and leaning poles were evident. The communities on this side weren’t spared.
One man from L’Anse Fourmi said the community came together after Hurricane Beryl caused a power outage, leaving the community without lights, water, and cell service. Isaiah Kerr said, “Up here, we take little food items from home and bring outside and cook a big pot, and everyone will eat while taking in the weather.”
Meanwhile, Charlotteville resident Dave Hackett chided the community for Sunday night’s street fisherman party, hours before the hurricane’s impact.
“I was very upset about that because the storm could have come and could have trapped them outside there. People need, when they hear this thing, to put off all activity.”
A distance away, workmen and villagers were still trying to remove a large tree that cut off the community from the rest of the island. One tractor operator told Guardian Media, as he removed piles of broken branches blocking the road, “We started out here after lunch, and on this side, we worked until after six. Those fellas were tired. It was a whole day, and it was a lot of work.”
By 4 pm, the electricity and water supply had returned to most of the affected communities. While the impact was not severe, the residents said the effects would be etched in their memories forever.
