Hurricane Beryl
Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, left a path of destruction in its wake as it moved through the Caribbean Sea and the United States.
Beryl caused 64 deaths, and billions of dollars in infrastructure damage. The hurricane hit Jamaica on July 3, slammed into the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico on July 5 and made landfall in Texas July 8, bringing damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge, heavy rainfall and dangerous flooding. Millions in Texas lost power, creating problems for healthcare facilities as well as for those with chronic conditions that require medical equipment.
International Medical Corps closely tracked the storm, and is responding in both Jamaica and Texas, working closely alongside local partners.
Our Response
International Medical Corps and Hurricane Response
International Medical Corps has been responding to major hurricanes and flooding in the United States and Caribbean since 1998, including such devastating storms as Hurricanes Katrina, Michael and Ian in the United States, and Hurricanes Maria, Dorian and Fiona in the Caribbean.
International Medical Corps is responding to Hurricane Beryl. Our first Rapid Response Team (RRT) landed in Jamaica on Saturday, July 6, and began coordinating with the Pan American Health Organization and other partners to conduct assessments and identify priority needs. We also sent an RRT to Texas to conduct assessments and meet with local partners.
In Jamaica, we are working with the National Healthcare Enhancement Foundation (NHEF), an arm of the Jamaican Ministry of Health (MoH), to support three temporary health centers, a hospital that is replacing services for three neighboring non-functioning clinics, and the Saint Elizabeth Regional Health Center, which is home to the offices of the regional health team. We have distributed thousands of items for construction activities, including water tanks, PVC pipes, shower heads, cement and paint rollers, to ensure proper infrastructure necessary for patient care. We also have provided partner facilities with urgent medical supplies, including diagnostic kits, wound-care and hygiene kits, first-aid kits and flashlights. Additionally, we have procured and distributed vital medical equipment, including IV poles, blood pressure monitors, stethoscopes and scales.
International Medical Corps will continue to support facilities for six months by providing medical equipment and supplies. We are also working with NHEF to provide training programs to healthcare staff and community members, including training in Mass Casualty Management, Primary Trauma Care, Stop the Bleed and Emergency Preparedness.
In Texas, International Medical Corps has partnered with key nonprofit community health-center organizations located throughout the greater Houston region that serve vulnerable and economically challenged communities, including unhoused, immigrant and low-income residents—many of whom have endured the brunt of the impact from repeated climate-related events.
We quickly distributed critical relief and recovery supplies to partner clinics, including tarps, canned foods, headlamps, and individual wound-care and hygiene kits to five partner community health centers located in the most affected areas throughout the greater Houston region. In collaboration with health center partners, we have identified other critical supply needs and opportunities for high-impact program interventions. We are working to support recovery efforts that are directly linked to strengthening communities’ ability to respond to extreme climate events, in anticipation of what is predicted to be one of the worst hurricane seasons on record.
Continued activities will focus on:
- procuring and distributing medicines, medical equipment and supplies to support local health systems;
- providing non-food items, including hygiene kits and water; and
- helping local partners develop and initiate long-term recovery efforts, including training.
International Medical Corps will continue to work closely with government and partner organizations as we help communities recover from the effects of Hurricane Beryl.