SVG Readies for Above-normal Hurricane Season

The number of available emergency shelters has seen a slight decrease from last year’s numbers as disaster management officials roll out preparation plans for the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane season.

June 1, 2025, marked the official start of the hurricane season and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted that 2025 will feature an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season.

The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, is forecast to have a range of 13 to 19 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 6-10 are forecast to become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to five major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). The NOAA has said there is a 70 percent confidence in these ranges.

Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, in an address to mark the start of the season disclosed that the number of shelters has been reduced to 140 across mainland St Vincent and in the Grenadines.

“While we have a reduced number, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be enough places for people to go to.”

In 2024, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) listed 144 shelters. While the Prime Minister did not indicate the reason for the reduced number, a number of shelters in the Southern Grenadines were destroyed following the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July, 1, last year.

The Prime Minister also revealed that in early May, NEMO hosted a State-of-Readiness meeting with all major subcommittees and agencies to review all systems, in preparation for hurricane season. This has been followed up with training sessions with stakeholders and private sector organizations throughout the country in addition to the strengthening of capacity training in the Southern Grenadines.

PM Gonsalves said preparation is especially important considering the country is still in the recovery and rebuilding phase from the passage of Beryl which carried a loss and damage estimate of “a number close to EC$1 billion”.

He quoted figures which outlined persons affected to be in the range of 36 to 37 percent of the country’s population- “roughly 40,000. In excess of 5,000 households were damaged with 6,000 houses requiring repairs or to be rebuilt,” he said on radio.

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