Such is the rapid passage of time it’s hard for many of us to wrap our heads around the reality that this week marks the first anniversary of Hurricane Beryl’s devastation of sections of Jamaica’s south coast.

For many Jamaicans in more central and northern regions — more especially those protected from Beryl’s ferocious winds by the island’s towering mountains — it wasn’t easy to properly visualise the trauma and distress to the south.

The storm — which broke records because of how early in the season it became a major hurricane — first devastated Grenada in the eastern Caribbean.

It gathered strength over the Caribbean Sea rapidly reaching Category Five approaching Jamaica before weakening to Category Four as it passed.

Statitics never tell the whole story, but for the record there were at least three deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure, agriculture, etc, estimated by the authorities at in excess of $32 billion.

For an up front and personal impression of the sheer horror wrought by Hurricane Beryl a story told to this newspaper by Southfield, St Elizabeth, couple, Mr and Mrs Everton and Josephine Martin comes to mind.

Just a few days after the storm, which hit on the night of July 3, the Martins told our reporter Mr Kasey Williams of how they sought refuge in a three-foot by four-foot closet, desperately tugging on Mr Martin’s neck ties to keep the closet closed, as Beryl raged and eventually removed their roof.

“I thought that the walls of the building were coming down; it was like a strong man grabbed something and was shaking everything out of it…” Mr Martin said at the time.

Across the road from the Martins, Mr Byron Duff showed our reporter a 40-foot container that was thrown 10 metres by Beryl’s winds.

“…This hurricane must have come with crane…,” quipped Mr Duff.

A year later, we hear from residents of the south Clarendon coastal community of Portland Cottage that, in many cases, they are yet to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl’s powerful winds and storm surges.

This newspaper’s latest Sunday edition says extensive roof and structural damage to people’s homes is still very evident in Portland Cottage and designated shelters are not as they should be a month into the 2025 hurricane season.

While residents got some help from Government, it wasn’t enough. Now they fear they are even more vulnerable than a year ago.

In May we heard from minister with responsibility for works Mr Robert Morgan that Government will be spending approximately $832 million on critical mitigation work across the island, up from $102 million allocated for similar activities in 2024.

“Based on what we went through, with [Hurricane] Beryl last July, we are not taking any chances. We’re preparing early and acting fast,” Mr Morgan told Parliament.

And further that, “We [Government] do not consider this hurricane season business as usual…”

However, if we are to go by what we are hearing from Portland Cottage, there are holes to fill and much else to do ahead of any storm that may be coming our way.

Relevant government agencies, and all emergency and utility services, etc, need to get even busier in a hurry.