An unseasonably early hurricane is gathering strength as it bears down on the Caribbean, stoking fears it could cause 2.7m waves and catastrophic damage.
Eastern Caribbean residents are being warned to act now to protect their lives as the “extremely dangerous and life-threatening” Hurricane Beryl makes landfall.
Hurricane Beryl strengthened as it churned toward the Caribbean’s Windward Islands, according to officials, threatening devastating flooding and storm surges as life-threatening high winds picked up speed.
People in a broad swathe of the Eastern Caribbean boarded up shops, stocked up on food and filled their cars with fuel as the storm approached.
Into the eye of Hurricane #Beryl!
This season is in full swing and WP-3D Orion #NOAA42 “Kermit” is gathering data for forecasters from @NHC_Atlantic. These flights also support @NOAA_AOML hurricane research.
Visit https://t.co/3phpgKNx0q for the latest forecast & advisories. pic.twitter.com/Uvi4lacAvw
— NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (@NOAA_HurrHunter) July 1, 2024
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Take action now to protect your life!” the US National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory, urging residents in Grenada, the Grenadine Islands as well as Carriacou Island, where Beryl made landfall, according to NHC, to shelter due to an expected rapid increase in wind force.
Beryl’s rapid rise marks an unusually fierce and early start to this year’s Atlantic hurricane season – the earliest Category 4 storm on record, according to NHC data.
The Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, said he was expecting a natural disaster that could continue for days.
In the capital of Kingstown, conditions around the main harbour worsened on Monday morning, with some damage to buildings reported, caused by intensifying winds. Video from Kingston showed waves crashing over a seawall and palm trees along the shore battered by the wind.
At Category 4 strength on the Saffir-Simpson five-point scale, Beryl is packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 225km/h, with some higher gusts, and is located about 55km northeast of Grenada.
Beryl is moving west-northwest at a speed of 32km/h and is forecast to cross many of the central Caribbean’s most populated islands through Wednesday as it barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico, the NHC said.
The core of the hurricane will likely bring “potentially catastrophic wind damage” as it moves through parts of the Windward Islands, with St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, most at risk, the centre said.
A Reuters reporter on Grenada said power was down across the island.
In the St Vincent community of Prospect, damage reports include some building roofs ripped off, as well as power cuts in other parts of the island.
Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Tobago. A tropical storm warning was issued for Martinique, Trinidad and St Lucia, with storm watches also issued for parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Tobago has opened shelters, closed schools for Monday, and cancelled elective surgeries in hospitals, authorities said.
