Even as Jamaicans moved to put the pieces back together following the devastation from Hurricane Beryl came news of another potentially damaging weather system.

We are told that a tropical depression has developed in the Caribbean Sea west of the Lesser Antilles which seems set to deliver more rain in the vicinity of Jamaica on the weekend.

It’s a reminder that, as the experts have been saying for months, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season could turn out to be the busiest on record.

Indeed, Hurricane Beryl, which hit the south-eastern Caribbean as well as Jamaica as a Category 4 storm, is being described as the strongest ever this early in the season. It will also be remembered among the most powerful to have hit this country, although its centre (eye) passed over the sea just to the south.

For that we must give thanks, for had Beryl passed over land, as some experts projected
— like Gilbert in 1988
— the grief and destruction would have been devastating.

To underline the point, Gilbert
— which still sends tremors down the spine of those who experienced it
— was a weaker storm (Category 3) when it touched land at St Thomas in the east and rampaged through the centre of the country 36 years ago.

The word as press time approached Thursday was of two confirmed deaths in Jamaica and a 20-year-old man suspected to have succumbed in flood waters.

We offer our condolence to their families and friends while hoping there are no other such reports.

Available evidence suggests damage to housing stock and commercial buildings, especially in the south-central and south-western parishes.

Emerging reports of damage to schools are heartbreaking. In that respect, the only good thing, perhaps, is that this disaster has struck right at the end of the school term ahead of the long summer holidays. That should mean more time for recovery prior to the resumption in September. That’s assuming, of course, that we are spared further disasters.

Inevitably, the utility firms, including Jamaica Public Service Company, National Water Commission, and the telecoms/Internet providers, will be judged on the speed with which their service returns to normal.

Also there should be an honest assessment of how prepared we were
— as State agencies, private entities and individuals
— for this storm.

As was said in this space on Thursday, early impressions were of a far less than good look.

A source of annoyance for television watchers on Wednesday, mere hours before the arrival of Beryl, was of a drain cleaning exercise gone completely awry.

Debris cleared from the drain was piled to the side and promptly washed back in by rain. That’s the kind of incompetence, carelessness, absence of supervision and downright ‘don’t care’ attitude which undermine confidence in authority, whether elected or not.

We must do better if we are to cope with the challenges up ahead
— natural disasters and otherwise.

Yet, we would be remiss were we to conclude without paying tribute to those who stood their ground and did their best through Wednesday.

To our security forces who kept the criminal parasites at bay; and other emergency crews, including hospital staff, firefighters, et al, our heartfelt thanks on behalf of all Jamaicans.