Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica as rain and 145mph winds knock out power ahead of landfall: Live updates
Hurricane Beryl has knocked out power in parts of Jamaica with life-threatening rain and winds
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Hurricane Beryl is hitting Jamaica with life-threatening rain and 145mph winds this afternoon after charting a deadly path through the eastern Caribbean.
High winds from the Category 4 storm have already knocked down power lines in Portland, the Jamaica Observer reports. Officials have declared Jamaica a disaster area and imposed a curfew for Wednesday.
There are more than 900 shelters across Jamaica and an evacuation process for those in flood-prone and low-lying areas, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Wednesday morning.
The storm will move toward the Cayman Islands tonight before heading to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Grenada was left with “unimaginable” destruction after the storm passed through, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said. Officials said 98 percent of buildings in the nation of 6,000 people had been damaged or destroyed.
Hurricane Beryl has killed at least seven people so far. The storm intensified to the earliest Category 5 storm recorded in the Atlantic overnight before weakening back to Category 4 on Tuesday.
While the storm is expected to weaken later this week, it will likely remain a major hurricane. Hurricane Beryl also has the potential to hit southern Texas and Louisiana over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
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U.N. Climate Change Executive’s home damaged by Beryl
One of the homes that Beryl damaged belongs to the parents of UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, who is from Carriacou, Granada.
The storm also destroyed the home of his late grandmother. In a statement, Stiell said that the climate crisis is worsening, faster than expected. “Whether in my homeland of Carriacou — hammered by Hurricane Beryl, or in the heatwaves and floods crippling communities in some of the world’s largest economies, it’s clear that the climate crisis is pushing disasters to record-breaking new levels of destruction,” he said.
Jamaican prime minister imposes nationwide curfew
With Hurricane Beryl is barreling towards Jamaica, prime minister Andrew Holness has imposed a nationwide curfew from 6am to 6pm.
“This is to ensure the safety of everyone during the passage of the storm and prevent any movement with the intent to carry out criminal activity,” Mr Holness said in a video on Instagram.
The announcement came after Holness declared the whole of Jamaica would be a “disaster area” for the next week after reviewing the storm’s “likely strength and impact.”
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Grenada prime minister: ‘complete destruction of homes and buildings'
In a video briefing, Grenada's prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, stressed that Carriacou and Petite Martinique, two of the three islands that make up the country, bore the brunt of the natural disaster, calling the situation "Armageddon-like".
"There is no power. There is almost complete destruction of homes and buildings," he said, citing impassable roads due to downed power lines and destroyed fuel stations crimping supplies.
Mr Mitchell said at least two deaths were attributed to the impact of Beryl so far.
Fallen trees and debris scattered the streets after the storm, which Mitchell said had totally destroyed the mangroves on Carriacou, leaving "literally no vegetation" and destroying the island's agriculture.
Where had Hurricane Beryl been?
Hurricane Beryl has barreled toward Jamaica as the powerful Category 4 storm flattened homes and devastated agriculture on smaller islands in the eastern Caribbean, killing at least three people.
The Caribbean island of Carriacou in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines saw the most severe damage from Beryl.
At least seven people were killed in the two nations and Venezuela.
Damage has also been reported on the island of Petite Martinique and in Barbados.
Watch: Hurricane Beryl brings a storm surge to southern Barbados
Hurricane Beryl: Meteorologists warn of 'increasing risk' to US
Meteorologists from AccuWeather have raised concerns about the growing threat that Hurricane Beryl poses to the Texas Gulf Coast this weekend, even as the storm is expected to weaken as it moves closer.
Beryl, recently downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm, is currently bearing down on Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph.
While Beryl is expected to weaken due to wind shear as it moves west, if it remains strong, the storm could turn north towards the US and impact areas from the Louisiana coastline south of New Orleans to the Texas coast.
“We’re getting more concerned that the upper-level atmospheric winds that steer a hurricane like Beryl can support a turn to the north this weekend,” said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Forecaster Alex DaSilva.
“If Beryl is torn apart by wind shear over the next few days, it’s more likely to follow the trade winds and move west into Mexico.”
“Unfortunately, we’re more concerned the storm will be a little stronger, which combined with the steering winds, may lead to Beryl moving toward the Texas Gulf Coast.”
Jamaica declared 'disaster area' ahead of Hurricane Beryl
The entire island of Jamaica has been declared a ‘disaster area’ ahead of Hurricane Beryl’s arrival.
Prime minister Andrew Holness made the pre-emptive announcement on Tuesday night in an address to the public ahead of the storm’s arrival on Wednesday.
An island-wide curfew will also be in place from 6am to 6pm local time (11am-11pm GMT) on Wednesday.Three airports - Sangster International (Montego Bay), Norman Manley International (Kingston) and Ian Fleming International (Ocho Rios) - were shut down on Tuesday evening and will remain closed through Wednesday.
Jamaica is right on the path of the hurricane which is heading to the island with as a Category 4 storm with 155mph.
Beryl charted a deadly path through Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, destroying buildings and killing at least seven.
ICYMI: Grenada reopens airport after destructive Hurricane Beryl
Grenada’s Maurice Bishop International Airport reopened Tuesday morning after Hurricane Beryl swept through the region yesterday, a spokesperson for the island’s tourism authority said in a statement.
“However, we’re deeply saddened by the widespread damage and news of fatalities on our sister islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique,” the spokesperson continued. “We are working closely with the emergency services to ensure support and relief efforts are in place as soon as possible, as well as the restoration of vital services.”
Several airports in the eastern Caribbean saw widespread cancelations as Hurricane Beryl blew through.
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