TAMPA, Fla. — A Hurricane Relief Drive has been organized to help those impacted by Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean.
Evie Larmond is the president of the Caribbean Community Association and a member of the Caribbean Leadership team.
She has family in Jamaica.
"When we saw the devastation, we were very emotional, all of us were," said Larmond.
She is meeting with 18 other local organizations to discuss hurricane relief efforts and how to get the items to people in need.
"Barbados was impacted, the Carriacou Island, Grenada, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Jamaica, five islands were impacted," said Larmond.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas early Monday morning. Last week, the storm hit the Caribbean Islands. It's the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in more than a decade. The hardest-hit areas need food, water, and power.
Larmond said they're collecting household items, personal items, baby items, medical supplies, and food items.
Items needed include diapers, cleaning supplies, bug repellent, batteries, canned food goods, flour, sugar, beans, rice, and non-perishable food items.
Medical supplies, including first aid kits, gauze, rubbing alcohol and wipes, peroxide, Tylenol, and aspirin, are also needed.
"We know Grenada was impacted because the island of Carriacou has been totally wiped out, so the residents have been evacuated to Grenada. We know that in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 90% of the houses were flattened, and in Jamaica, we know that there is a power outage," said Larmond.
People may drop off donations at the Jerk Hut (E. Fowler Avenue in Tampa), Pam Roti & Caribbean Grocery (St. Pete), and Island Flavors & Tings (Gulfport).
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
