'Potentially catastrophic' Hurricane Beryl approaching Jamaica
Kyiv • UNN
Hurricane Beryl, a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm with winds of 240 km/h, has caused devastation and at least three deaths in Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and now threatens Jamaica with life-threatening winds and storm surge.
Deadly hurricane "Beryl", swept through the Caribbean Sea, intensifies as it moves towards Jamaica, writes UNN with reference to the BBC.
Details
Hurricane Beryl is now a Category 5 hurricane, meaning its winds and storm surge could be catastrophic.
The storm hit Carriacou Island, which is part of Grenada, on Monday.
So far, there are reports of two deaths as a result of the storm, one in Grenada and one in St. Vincent.
"Beryl made landfall on Monday as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 240 km/h.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Carriacou was a "direct hit" in the "extremely dangerous eye" of Hurricane Beryl. Communications with Carriacou and the nearby island of Petite Martinique remain disrupted.
Grenada's Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell has warned that there may be more dead than has been reported on Grenada so far. Mitchell said the true extent of the damage will not be known until officials can reach the islands.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, northeast of Grenada, was also hit by Hurricane Beryl. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said at least one person has died as a result of the storm. He said storm Beryl had "left behind tremendous devastation". The prime minister said the situation on Union Island, a small island of about 3,000 people, was particularly dire. "The reports I have received indicate that 90 percent of homes are seriously damaged or destroyed," he said. Gonsalves also warned that "the death toll could well be higher, we are not sure yet.
Thousands of people remain without power, many in temporary shelters in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and St. Lucia. Footage posted on social media showed homes with roofs ripped off and residents scrambling to save their belongings.
Barbados, which had a hurricane warning when storm Beryl approached, appears to have escaped serious damage, the publication says. A government official said that although the country had "dodged a bullet," people should not let their guard down as "wind gusts are still blowing, gale force winds are still blowing.
Meteorologists from the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) say Beryl continues to strengthen as it moves through the southeastern Caribbean.
The NHC warns that Beryl is expected to bring "life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica later this week," most likely Wednesday afternoon local time. The Jamaican government issued a hurricane warning and people living in low-lying and flood-prone areas were urged to seek shelter.
Before reaching Jamaica, Hurricane Beryl could also wreak havoc in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Española.
The NHC said that Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Category 5 Atlantic storm they had ever recorded and formed much earlier in the hurricane season than usual. Meteorologists also noted how quickly Beryl developed. The storm went from a tropical depression to a major Category 3 hurricane and stronger in just 42 hours, hurricane expert Sam Lillo told the Associated Press.
Supplement
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has warned that the North Atlantic could see up to seven major hurricanes this year - compared to an average of three per season.
