Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strong hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a Category 3 storm. Hurricane Beryl lashed the southeastern Caribbean as a Category 4 storm — an unprecedented strength this early in the Atlantic season. Beryl amassed its strength from record-warm waters that are hotter now than they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September, he said.

Barbados’ most unwanted visitor has returned to its shores. The dreaded Sargassum seaweed is back. Since 2015 an influx of the unwelcome brown micro-algae has proven to be a major headache for the tourism industry. The seaweed, which invaded a number of beaches in Barbados, caused an awful stench, as the vegetable matter rotted after …