DORAL, Fla. – The Global Empowerment Mission in Doral is spearheading a relief effort in response to Hurricane Beryl’s devastating impact on parts of the Caribbean.
Local 10 News got an inside look Tuesday at GEM’s bustling warehouse, where donations are being sorted and packed for dispatch to the affected regions.
Throughout the year, GEM has collected donations and provides crisis response worldwide.
Now, the organization says they’re focused on the Caribbean, where Hurricane Beryl has wrought significant damage.
After striking the small island of Carriacou at the entrance of the eastern Caribbean as a 150 mph Category 4 hurricane on Monday, Beryl continued to intensify through the overnight hours, becoming a 165 mph Category 5 hurricane by early Tuesday, according to Local 10 Hurricane Specialist and Storm Surge Expert Michael Lowry.
During a news conference Tuesday, GEM and the Caribbean Consular Corps detailed their coordinated response and the anticipated needs of the impacted islands.
Representatives from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica discussed the historic and severe nature of the storm’s impact. They also emphasized the urgent need for support from the international community.
“We’re calling on the community in terms of volunteers in terms of hurricane relief items, and monetary support to rally around the West Indies at this time,” said Consul General of Jamaica Oliver Mair.
Marlon Hill of the Miami Foundation echoed the urgency, stating, “We are presently in dire need to support the impacted islands in the Windward Islands.”
Parts of the Caribbean are already seeing widespread damage, with homes and industries destroyed and hundreds displaced, bracing for what could still come.
“We are here to basically amass as much supplies as we can for this particular response and also any potential responses. There’s another storm that’s brewing right behind this one,” said GEM’s Michael Capponi.
GEM has provided a section on its website with detailed information on how the public can contribute to the relief efforts that will help with the aid and recovery operations in the Caribbean.
CLICK HERE for more information on how you can contribute to their mission.
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Local 10 viewers can also view GEM’s community needs list in the photo below.