After surviving the night Hurricane Beryl tore through her Union Island home with ferocious force, Katrina Coy was taken aback by the extent of the devastation that lay before her.

Almost every building on the island, which lies near St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was flattened or severely damaged, she said.

“Union Island is in a terrible state after Beryl came. In short, almost the entire island is homeless," Ms Coy said in a video message.

"There are hardly any buildings left standing. Houses have been leveled, roads have been blocked, electricity poles have been knocked down in the streets.”

Fisherman and fishing guide Sebastien Sailly was of the same opinion.

"Everything is lost. I have nowhere to live now," he said.

A Union resident who experienced Hurricane Ivan said Hurricane Beryk was on another level.

"It's like a tornado came through here. Ninety percent of the island - easily 90% - has been wiped out."

The degree of shock and fear is still evident in his voice.

"I was holed up with my wife and daughter and, to be honest, I wasn't sure we were going to make it at all."

His cousin, Alizee, who runs a hotel with her family, described a terrifying experience when Beryl passed over their town.

She said they had to prop the mobiles against the doors and windows to stop steady winds and heavy gusts blowing them open.

"The pressure was so strong that you could feel it in your ear. We could hear the roof coming apart and crashing into another building. Breaking windows, flooding.

"No one knew it would be this bad, everyone is traumatized."

Alizee Sailly said many goods are urgently needed on Union Island - from canned food and powdered milk to sanitary products, first aid kits and tents./BBC/