Many Jamaicans without power after lightning storm

Hundreds of thousands of homes in Jamaica remain without power following Hurricane Beryl.

The category 4 storm – one of the strongest ever to hit the country – swept across the island’s southern coast on Wednesday night, bringing more than 12 hours of heavy rain.

Officials and residents were assessing the damage after an island-wide curfew was lifted early Thursday morning.

Beryl, which has now weakened to a Category 3 hurricane, is headed toward Mexico and the Cayman Islands, leaving a path of destruction across the Caribbean, killing at least 10 people.

St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Venezuela each reported three deaths, while Jamaica had one death.

In the capital Kingston, despite the strong winds, it was not the hurricane that was expected. But hours of heavy rain are a real concern, especially in farmland where flooding has been reported.

“It’s terrible. Everything is gone. I’m in my house and I’m very scared,” a resident of a rural farming community told Reuters.

“This is a disaster,” said Amoy Wellington, who lives in the southern parish of St Elizabeth.

On Wednesday night I was able to go out for a while to move the car away from the overhanging trees.

A full-length mirror lay next to the car—perhaps blown off someone’s balcony—as a reminder of how unexpected objects can suddenly become missiles in such strong winds.

Jamaica energy provider JPS said 65% – or about 400,000 customers – were without power as of Thursday morning.

The storm had caused “a devastating blow” to some areas of the island, a member of parliament for St Elizabeth South Western said.

Posting on X, Floyd Green said in his constituency “there are a large number of roofs [have been] lost, houses destroyed, trees uprooted, lampposts fell, almost all roads impassable.”

King Charles III, who is also the monarch of several Caribbean nations, said on Thursday that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the terrible devastation” caused by Hurricane Beryl.

The United Nations has released $4m (£3.1m) from its emergency response fund to support recovery efforts in Jamaica, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness thanked “first responders, essential services, security forces and good Samaritans who have helped others in this time of crisis” on his X account.

Beryl became the earliest category five Atlantic hurricane in recorded history about 100 years ago – is thought to be due to warmer sea surface temperatures.

The storm amazed meteorologists with the speed at which it intensified – taking just 42 hours to transform from a tropical depression into a major hurricane.

Additional reporting by Alex Smith and Tiffany Wertheimer