Fishermen pull a boat damaged by Hurricane Beryl back to the dock at Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados on Monday.
Ricardo Mazalan/AP
hide caption
convert caption
Ricardo Mazalan/AP
Hurricane Beryl continues to move through the Caribbean and is expected to pass near or directly over Jamaica on Wednesday.
The extremely powerful storm has upgraded to a Category 5 storm on Monday night, making it a first atlantic hurricane of that power is noted.
Beryl caused widespread damage across several Caribbean island nations and killed at least two people when it swept through the region earlier this week. It now has peak winds of about 160 mph as it moves toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
“I encourage all Jamaicans to take the storm seriously,” said Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness. in a video message Monday. “However, this is not the time to panic. This is the time for us to be very strategic and calculated in our approach. We have 48 hours to prepare.”
All of Jamaica remained under a hurricane warning on Tuesday, meaning meteorologists expected hurricane conditions to develop in the area and “preparations to protect life and property should be urgently completed,” the National Hurricane Center said. speak.
Graphic from the National Hurricane Center shows the projected path of Hurricane Beryl.
National Hurricane Center
hide caption
convert caption
National Hurricane Center
The island is expected to see hurricane-force winds and four to eight inches of rain, with some localized amounts of up to a foot. A hurricane could bring water levels as high as five to eight feet along the Jamaican coast.
Beryl may have reached peak intensity, but remains dangerous
National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in a video press conference Jamaicans should prepare for “multiple life-threatening hazards” from Beryl on Tuesday morning.
“Dangerous winds at the center of the storm, life-threatening high waves, life-threatening flash floods due to heavy rain,” he said.
Brennan said forecasters believe Beryl may have reached peak intensity, with data showing its central pressure has increased and peak winds have slightly decreased. However, he predicted it would remain a “strong hurricane” as it continues to move across the Caribbean.
As of Tuesday morning, Beryl was located about 555 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and moving at about 22 mph.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac and parts of Haiti’s southern coast. Other parts of Haiti’s coast, as well as parts of the Dominican Republic’s southern coast, are under a tropical storm warning.
The storm left a trail of damage.
Beryl left a trail of devastation in several countries in the eastern Caribbean, including Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands and Grenada. Images showed buildings torn apart, trees toppled and boats thrown around in harbors.
On the Tuesday morning after Beryl’s death, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell speak The country is “facing the reality of the devastation” caused by the storm, particularly on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, he said, adding that at least two deaths had been preliminarily reported.
“The situation is dire,” Mitchell said after speaking with a local official on the island. “There is no electricity. Homes and buildings on the island are almost completely destroyed. Roads are impassable, and in many cases they are cut off because of the large amount of debris that is strewn across the streets.”
It’s unusual for an Atlantic hurricane of Beryl’s strength to occur this early in the season. When it was upgraded to a Category 4 storm over the weekend, it was the first storm of that strength on record in June.
Climate change is making powerful hurricanes more common. Warmer ocean temperatures due to climate change are helping to fuel what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts will be unusually severe storm season In the Atlantic this year, forecasters expect between 17 and 25 named storms.
