标签： Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

A powerful tropical wave swept through St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday night, dumping 130.2 millimeters (5.1 inches) of rain over a 24-hour period and triggering widespread flooding and landslides that have uprooted 29 people from nine households across the island nation.

In its official situation report released Tuesday, the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) confirmed that 17 of the displaced residents are now staying in government-operated public shelters, while the remaining 12 have found temporary refuge in private accommodations arranged with local residents. Five people from three families are being housed at the Buccament Bay Secondary School Shelter, with an additional 12 people from three other families taking shelter at the Buccament Bay-based Golden Years Centre. Other displaced households have sought help from relatives after their properties suffered total structural collapse or were placed under imminent landslide threats: six residents from Rillan Hill, three from Clare Valley, and three from Chauncey are all currently staying with nearby neighbours and family members.

The nation’s primary healthcare hub, the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH), reported that floodwaters that entered the facility have now been contained, though public health teams are still conducting ongoing assessments to check facility sanitation and tally total damage. In a social media announcement Tuesday, the Ministry of Health confirmed that outpatient services at both MCMH and the Levi Latham Health Centre will remain suspended for a second consecutive day on Wednesday. Normal visiting hours at MCMH are scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

“We thank the public for your patience, understanding and cooperation as we continue to assess and restore services following the recent heavy rainfall and flooding,” the ministry’s statement read.

Beyond healthcare facilities, the Vermont Police Station has also reported flood damage and interior water leaks. Across the entire country, NEMO’s rapid assessment teams have documented 44 separate disaster-related incidents: 15 flooding events, 13 landslides, five instances of blocked roadways covered in debris, and three fallen tree incidents. Preliminary assessments also confirm that multiple commercial businesses along Upper and Lower Bay Street in the capital city of Kingstown have sustained damage from the disaster.

Prime Minister Godwin Friday has already conducted on-site visits to impacted residential areas in Clare Valley and Buccament, affected commercial operations in Kingstown, and the flood-damaged Milton Cato Memorial Hospital to coordinate response efforts. Local police carried out urgent rescue operations in Buccament, successfully evacuating multiple families that had become trapped by rising floodwaters near the local playing field. The Central Roads Authority (BRAGSA) has deployed heavy machinery and work crews to clear blocked roadways, starting with critical routes on Belmont Main Road and in central Kingstown.

Critical infrastructure has taken widespread damage beyond roads and public buildings. The nation’s municipal water supply has been severely disrupted after the disaster impacted the Majorca, Montreal, Mamoon and Perseverance water systems. According to the Central Water and Sewerage Authority, the dam at the Majorca Water Supply System is now completely filled with silt, which has blocked all water extraction operations. Manual removal of the accumulated silt is required before water delivery can resume, a project the authority estimates will take approximately two full days to complete.

On the power front, national utility company VINLEC issued a 3:30 p.m. update Tuesday confirming that electricity service has been fully restored to all previously impacted areas on the island of Bequia. On mainland St. Vincent, power has already been restored to dozens of communities including Campden Park, Roucher Bay, Top Belair, Richland Park, Top Hopewell, Greiggs, Maroon Hill, Lauders, Lowmans Windward, Lowmans Village, Chapmans, Simon, New Adelphi, Stinking Tree Village, Doctor Smith, South Rivers, Mt. Young, Georgetown (including the local hospital), Langley Park, Dixon, O’Brien’s Valley, Mt. Bentick, Overland, Magum, Orange Hill, Tourama, Sandy Bay, Point, and a portion of Owia that includes the local Fisheries complex. As of Tuesday afternoon, power outages remain in effect for Stubbs near Bonhomme Gap, part of New Grounds, Bridgetown, North Union, South Union, another section of Owia, and Fancy.

“Our teams remain mobilised and restoration efforts are continuing to return power to all remaining affected customers as safely and as quickly as conditions allow. We thank customers for your continued patience and understanding,” VINLEC said in its update.

As recovery and response efforts get underway, local meteorological officials are warning residents to remain on alert for additional hazardous weather. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, the SVG Met Services forecast that conditions through 6 a.m. Wednesday will remain cloudy and breezy, with ongoing scattered showers and a chance of isolated thunderstorms. Forecasters urged residents and drivers in areas prone to flash flooding and landslides, as well as those living near rivers and streams, to maintain constant situational awareness through the ongoing weather event.

A high-stakes fraud case unfolding in Kingstown, Saint Vincent, has seen a mother and daughter enter not guilty pleas to dozens of financial deception charges, with authorities confirming more accusations are still to come. The pair — 35-year-old Morenike Cottle, a serving votes clerk, and 56-year-old unemployed Lisby Cottle, both residents of Vermont — appeared Monday before Chief Magistrate Colin John at the Serious Offences Court to answer to the initial 104 charges laid between them. Morenike Cottle faces 98 total charges so far, split into two distinct sets of financial offenses. Prosecutors allege she falsified 43 entries in the SMARTSTREAM accounting system, the official platform used by the Saint Vincent government to manage public payroll and disbursements. Each falsified entry wrongfully claimed between 300 and 800 Eastern Caribbean dollars (EC$) in unauthorized payments from the country’s Treasury Department for a roster of third-party beneficiaries. An additional 55 charges accuse Cottle of carrying out repeated dishonest schemes to obtain illegal pecuniary advantage through deception, with each transaction also falling in the EC$300 to EC$800 range, all siphoned from public funds. Among the third parties named as unintended beneficiaries of the alleged scheme are Nichanna Tamika Lewis, Sean Ronald Gilbert, Kenya Petra Ann Browne, Michael Carwess Smart, Perlina Blugh Luvinia Christopher, Marilyn St Eka Chance Shallow, John Rudolph Finch, and Khadilia Kengie Antonette Baptiste. Lisby Cottle, the elder defendant, faces six initial charges of deception connected to the same scheme. Prosecutors allege that between March and July 2024 (corrected from typo 2026) in Kingstown, she wrongfully obtained EC$450 per transaction for her own personal gain, linking her directly to the fraudulent activity carried out by her daughter. Grant Connell, the defense attorney representing both women, told the court during the hearing that he had been given confirmation the current charges only represent the first phase of the prosecution’s case, describing the existing counts as “volume one” of the total accusations expected to be filed. When Connell asked for clarification on the number of pending additional charges, lead case investigator Inspector Biorn Duncan confirmed that more than 20 new charges will be formally brought against the pair in the coming weeks. Connell requested an adjournment of the proceedings to allow time for preparation, and also applied for bail with a surety, arguing that his two clients have deep, permanent community and family ties to the jurisdiction of Saint Vincent that make them low flight risk. Renwick Coto, the lead prosecutor, did not raise any formal objection to the bail application. However, he requested specific conditions to be attached to the release: that both women comply with regular police reporting requirements, and that they surrender all valid travel documents to the court to prevent any attempt to leave the jurisdiction ahead of trial. Chief Magistrate John granted the bail request, approving a composite bail amount of EC$5,000 for each defendant, with one surety required for each. In addition to the bail terms, the court formally ordered the pair to report on a regular basis to the Vermont Police Station, and to hand over all travel documents to the court clerk as requested by the prosecution. The entire case has been adjourned to October 12, when the next hearing will take place to accommodate the pending additional charges and allow both sides to prepare for trial proceedings.

Residents of Buccament Bay are once again dealing with the devastating aftermath of flooding, after a round of intense overnight rain swept through the region on Monday, October 5, 2026. Multiple residential properties have been completely flooded out, leaving homeowners facing costly damage and disrupted lives for what many locals say is not the first time.

Local independent news outlet iWitness News has dispatched correspondent Amandel Chance to the affected area to cover the unfolding situation, on-the-ground updates, and the experiences of impacted residents. The repeated flooding incidents in the coastal community have already sparked conversations about drainage infrastructure gaps and long-term flood mitigation planning for the region, as households work to recover from the latest weather event.

On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is grappling with widespread weather-related disruption after an active tropical wave moving across the island chain dumped extreme rainfall, triggering destructive flooding, landslides, fallen trees and widespread road blockages in multiple communities.

Data released by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Services (SVG Met) shows the island recorded 130.2 millimeters of rain in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday morning, with relative humidity peaking at 96%. Forecasters at SVG Met confirmed that inclement conditions will persist through Tuesday morning, with continued overcast skies, moderate to heavy downpours and scattered isolated thunderstorms expected.

As of Tuesday morning, official reports have documented damage and disruption across a wide swath of the island: In Belmont, a boundary wall collapsed above the local Methodist Church, closing the main road entirely; Sally Spring has suffered a full road blockage following a landslide; active flooding has been observed across the South Rivers bridge and adjacent to the area’s health clinic; flooding has impacted the area around the BRAGSA bridge in Layou; fallen trees have partially blocked the main highway connecting Buccament to Kingstown; downed trees have cut off access along Calder’s main road; flooding has been recorded along the route from Ratho Mill to Kingstown, including areas near Calliaqua’s Pier 1, Greaves Supermarket, Heritage Square, Bay Street and North River Road; downtown Kingstown has restricted access to a section of Bay Street between the Central Police Station and the downtown BRAGSA location; and the Mesopotamia bridge near the local police station has been hit by severe flooding.

Two critical community facilities have also been forced to suspend core operations: the Levi Latham Community Centre and the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital have both sustained significant flood damage, forcing the cancellation of all outpatient services at both sites as of Tuesday.

In direct response to the unfolding emergency, the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Innovation, Digital Transformation, and Information has ordered the closure of all public and private schools across the island for Tuesday, October 6. As of the 8 a.m. publication of this advisory, no official order has been issued requiring the closure of private businesses.

Beyond safety warnings, the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) has issued a critical alert addressing a growing secondary hazard: widespread false emergency claims and unauthorised disaster alerts circulating across social media platforms. NEMO has urged the general public to ignore all unconfirmed information, and to only trust official updates distributed through official government channels and licensed, recognised media outlets.

Under the provisions of the 2006 NEMO Act, the deliberate spread of false disaster information or unauthorised emergency alerts is classified as a criminal offence. Individuals convicted of this violation may face fines of up to 5,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars, up to one year of imprisonment, or both. NEMO and SVG Met are formally recognised as the only official agencies responsible for emergency management coordination and hydrometeorological updates respectively.

NEMO has issued four core safety guidelines for residents to follow as the emergency continues: First, never attempt to drive or walk through floodwaters, or cross flowing rivers or streams. Second, avoid all routes confirmed to be impassable, including Belmont’s main road and sections of Buccament and Calder impacted by fallen trees. Third, residents in areas at high risk of flooding and landslides should remain on high alert and prepare to evacuate to safer ground if weather conditions worsen. Fourth, all community members should continuously monitor official updates from NEMO, SVG Met, local media and other authorised government sources as the situation evolves.

Officials have stressed that weather and ground conditions can shift rapidly across the island’s terrain. The public is strongly encouraged to exercise extreme caution and avoid all non-essential travel until heavy rainfall and flooding subside.

A powerful tropical wave has swept across St. Vincent and the Grenadines, unleashing heavy rainfall that caused widespread infrastructure damage and travel disruptions by early Tuesday morning. Over the 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. local time Tuesday, the small Caribbean nation recorded a total of 130.2 millimeters (5.2 inches) of precipitation, triggering flash flooding and landslides that damaged multiple residential properties across the country, including in the capital city of Kingstown.

In response to the hazardous conditions, government officials moved quickly to adjust daily operations, announcing the immediate cancellation of all classes for Tuesday. However, contrary to a widely circulated fake notice claiming all work was suspended, senior government officials confirmed that public sector employees were still required to report to their regular duties. Senator Lavern King, who holds the information portfolio, shared the official clarification during an interview with Hot 97 FM, noting that she had coordinated directly with Public Service Minister and Deputy Prime Minister St. Clair Leacock to confirm the policy.

“For the private sector, individual employers will issue their own guidance on whether staff need to report to work, but for all public sector teams, operations are proceeding as scheduled,” King stated. She added that Prime Minister Godwin Friday was already on the ground alongside emergency assessment teams to evaluate the full scope of damage across affected regions, and that any further adjustments to the government’s operational guidance would be released promptly if conditions change.

King’s public clarification came after the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) issued a formal warning about the legal consequences of spreading false disaster-related information in the country. Under the 2006 National Emergency and Disaster Management Act, intentionally spreading false disaster alerts or declarations is classified as a criminal offense, carrying penalties of up to a $5000 fine and/or one year of imprisonment. NEMO also urged the public to be particularly wary of AI-generated misleading posts, reminding residents that all official announcements about service or business closures will only be released through NEMO’s verified official communication channels.

The heavy rainfall has also forced disruptions to critical healthcare services in the hardest-hit areas. The Ministry of Health announced Tuesday that all outpatient appointments at Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) and the Levi Latham Health Centre in Mespo have been cancelled, after floodwaters entered both healthcare facilities. Restricted visitor policies have also been implemented at MCMH’s Male Medical Ward and Paediatric Ward to protect patient safety. The health ministry advised that expectant mothers arriving in labour should proceed directly to MCMH’s Maternity B Ward, and shared a dedicated emergency contact number (456-1955) for residents requiring urgent medical assistance, noting that further updates will be shared as cleanup operations progress.

Traffic authorities have also warned motorists of widespread travel disruptions, reporting that multiple road blockages have cut off access in and out of Kingstown, as well as along stretches of road on the windward and leeward coasts of St. Vincent. In a social media advisory, the Police Force’s Traffic Branch urged drivers to use alternate routes where available, plan for extended travel times due to expected congestion and delays, and avoid unnecessary travel through affected regions if possible. Officials also reminded motorists to reduce speeds, maintain safe following distances, and remain alert for displaced pedestrians and obstacles on roadways, adding that traffic teams are actively monitoring conditions and assisting with movement through impacted areas.

As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, the SVG Meteorological Services reported that the tropical wave was still impacting the nation, with forecasts calling for continued cloudy to overcast conditions with pockets of moderate to heavy rain, scattered thunderstorms through midday, before tapering off to mostly cloudy skies with only a few showers. Forecasters have continued to urge residents and drivers in landslide and flash flood-prone areas, as well as communities located near rivers and streams, to remain on high alert.

Looking ahead at the multi-day forecast, conditions are expected to stabilize gradually. A few residual passing showers are possible Tuesday evening as the tail of the tropical wave passes through the region. On Wednesday, light winds are forecast to bring warmer temperatures with occasional passing showers, while Thursday is expected to see partly cloudy skies across the country.