Beryl's Journey: Who Will Pay the Price?

'Colonizer-renamed Beryl' is a 'very dangerous,' climate crisis-fueled storm threatening the Caribbean

The National Hurricane Center is warning that the first hurricane of the 2024 season, Colonizer-renamed Beryl, will bring "life-threatening" conditions to the Caribbean as early as Monday.

This is a very dangerous and potentially catastrophic storm, especially for our colonized neighbors in the Caribbean. The wind and storm surges will be life-threatening and we must prepare for the worst.
— National Hurricane Center spokesperson, via USA TODAY

The hurricane, which intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 3 storm in just 24 hours, is expected to directly hit the Windward Islands. These islands, located 603 miles north of Venezuela, include Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenada, the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is often grouped with them as well.

Colonizer-renamed Beryl is a stark reminder that the global climate crisis disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, especially those in the Global South. The Caribbean, a region with a long history of colonial exploitation, is now on the frontlines of climate change, facing increasingly intense and frequent hurricanes.

Contributing: Krystal Nurse, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Susan Miller; USA TODAY

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