Hurricane Beryl barrels toward Jamaica as category 5 storm after ‘flattening’ Grenada island: Live

Hurricane Beryl heads for Jamaica after leaving trail of destruction in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines

Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Caribbean as Category 4 storm

Hurricane Beryl is barreling toward Jamaica as a category 5 storm after charting a deadly path through Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, flattening buildings, cutting off power and water, and killing at least two people.

Beryl, which has now intensified to the earliest category 5 storm recorded in the Atlantic after smashing the record as the earliest category 4 storm on record, made landfall in the Windward Islands on Monday.

Officials received “widespread reports of destruction and devastation in Carriacou and Petite Martinique,” Grenada prime minister Dickon Mitchell said. “In half an hour, Carriacou was flattened.”

At least one death was reported in Grenada and a second in St Vincent and the Grenadines, where Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said that around 90 per cent of homes had been damaged or destroyed on the nation’s Union Island.

As of Tuesday morning, Beryl is now heading towards Jamaica, which is under a Hurricane Warning. The hurricane was located about 695 miles (1,118km) east-southeast of Kingston and 370 miles (595) southeast of Isla Beata of the Dominican Republic, packing maximum sustained winds of 165mph (270km/h), the National Hurricane Center said. The Cayman Islands is also under a Hurricane Watch.

Key Points

• Hurricane Beryl is now the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic
• Mapped: Hurricane Beryl’s path
• At least one person has died in St Vincent and the Grenadines in wake of Beryl
• Hurricane Beryl fueled by warm ocean temperatures amid climate crisis
• Hurricane Beryl brings ‘catastrophic’ winds and ‘life-threatening’ conditions to several islands

[1 July 2024 19:30 · Katie Hawkinson]

See it: Major airport hit with delays, cancelations amid Hurricane Beryl

Flights are being delayed and canceled at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and Tobago as Hurricane Beryl rages through the eastern Caribbean, leaving travelers stranded.

People line up at a counter in the Piarco international Airport as flights are canceled because of Hurricane Beryl (REUTERS)

Travelers wait at the Piarco International Airport as flights are delayed and canceled because of Hurricane Beryl (REUTERS)

[1 July 2024 19:12 · Katie Hawkinson]

Video: Caribbean braces for record-breaking Hurricane Beryl

[1 July 2024 18:48 · Katie Hawkinson]

World Cup-winning Indian cricket team stranded in Barbados as Hurricane Beryl barrels in

The Indian men’s cricket team, which celebrated their win at the T20 World Cup 2024 final on Saturday, are stuck in Barbados due to Hurricane Beryl.

Read more from The Independent’s Shahana Yasmin:

[1 July 2024 18:37 · Katie Hawkinson]

Hurricane Beryl fueled by warm ocean temperatures amid climate crisis

Record-warm ocean temperatures gave Hurricane Beryl the strength to grow from a tropical depression to a Category 4 storm in a matter of days.

“Beryl is rewriting the history books in all the wrong ways,” Eric Blake, senior hurricane specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said.

While natural weather patterns like La Nina can help drive catastrophic storms, the human-driven climate crisis still plays a role, as oceans absorb more than 90 percent of excess heat produced by greenhouse gases.

High water temperatures can contribute to sea level rise and hurt marine life in addition to fueling strong storms like Hurricane Beryl. Ocean temperatures will likely continue to rise even if we curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to NOAA.

[1 July 2024 18:30 · Katie Hawkinson]

See it: Mesovortices spin in the eye of Hurricane Beryl

[1 July 2024 18:15 · Katie Hawkinson]

Hurricane Beryl approaches threshold for Category 5, meteorologist says

Hurricane Beryl is approaching Category 5 status as it brings 150 mph winds and a storm surge of nine feet to the Windward Islands, meteorologist Matthew Cappucci said.

The storm made landfall on Carriacou Island late Monday morning. Now, Hurricane Beryl is blowing through several islands in the eastern Caribbean, bringing “life-threatening” conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

[1 July 2024 18:00 · Katie Hawkinson]

Watch: Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in the southeast Caribbean

[1 July 2024 17:45 · Katie Hawkinson]

Hurricane Beryl to move towards Yucatan Peninsula this week

Hurricane Beryl will move east towards the Yucatan Peninsula over the next several days, National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said on Monday morning.

The storm has the potential to remain a powerful hurricane as it travels across the Caribbean Sea, Brennan said.

The Windward Islands will face life-threatening conditions from the storm until Monday evening.

A map from the National Weather Service shows Hurricane Beryl’s path to the eastern Caribbean on Monday (National Weather Service)

[1 July 2024 17:34 · Katie Hawkinson]

SEE IT: Lightning flashes in Hurricane Beryl’s eye wall

[1 July 2024 17:15 · Katie Hawkinson]

Video: Hurricane Beryl brings storm surge to southern Barbados coast

Hurricane Beryl brought a dangerous storm surge — that is, a rise in sea levels — to the southern Barbados coast on Monday morning.

The Category 4 hurricane then made landfall on Carriacou Island late Monday morning, bringing 150 mph sustained winds.