After the wind claimed the lives of at least seven people and caused widespread damage across the southeast Caribbean, Hurricane Beryl churned toward Jamaica on Tuesday, with forecasters warning of potentially deadly winds and wind wave.
The strong storms, which is unique therefore early in the Atlantic time, weakened Tuesday but was still an “extremely risky” Category 4 wind, and is expected to pass “near or over” Jamaica on Wednesday, scientists said.
Beryl is the first surprise to attain Category 4 since data from the US National Hurricane Center began to exist in June, and it is also the first to do so in July.
According to the NHC, the island nation had a hurricane warning in place, which stated that in addition to the life-threatening storm and high water levels, rains and flash flooding were expected.
Across Jamaica, disaster response arrangements were afoot, with shelters stocking up on procedures, people safeguarding their houses and vessels being pulled from the water.
” I urge all Jamaicans to stock up on food, batteries, lamps, and liquid. Remove any plants or other objects that may damage your property and secure your important documents,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on X.
Beryl is “expected to pass beneath or around” on Wednesday evening or early Thursday, according to the NHC. Additionally, hurricane warnings were issued in the Cayman Islands.
In the Dominican Republic, enormous waves were seen crashing into the sea along Santo Domingo as the wind passed to the country’s north, AFP photography reported.
– ‘ Low communication’-
At least three people were killed in Grenada, where Beryl made land on Monday, as well as one in St Vincent and the Grenadines and three in Venezuela, according to authorities.
Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said the area of Carriacou, which was struck by the eye of the storm, has been all but cut off, with buildings, communications and fuel infrastructure that flattened.
We’ve had essentially no contact with Carriacou in the last 12 hours, aside from a brief brief call this morning, Mitchell said at a press conference.
The 13.5- flat hour ( 35- square mile ) island is home to around 9, 000 people. According to Mitchell, there were at least two fatalities, and a fourth was reported fatally on Grenada, the nation’s main island, as a result of a tree-fall on a home.
One person was reported dead from the wind in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and a man died in Sucre, Venezuela’s northern seaside position, when he was swept aside by a flooded river, according to authorities it.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, expressed concern for the area on X, telling reporters that his business is” stands ready to support the federal government with any health wants.”
– ‘ Disturbing precedence’-
Experts claim that this early in the Atlantic hurricane season, which starts in June and ends in November, is extremely uncommon for quite a strong wind to form.
Warm sea temperatures are essential for storms, and North Atlantic lakes are now between two and five degrees Fahrenheit ( 1- 3 degrees Fahrenheit ) warmer than ordinary, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Beryl” sets an alarming precedent for what is anticipated to be a very active hurricane season,” according to the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO).
NOAA said in late May that it expects this year to be an “extraordinary” storms winter, with up to seven winds of Category 3 or below.
– Climate problems ‘ main blame’-
UN climate key Simon Stiell, who has relatives on the island of Carriacou, said culture change was “pushing disasters to report- breaking fresh levels of loss”.
He said on Monday that his parents ‘ property was damaged, noting that” the climate crisis is the main culprit,” adding that “disasters on a scale that used to be the stuff of science fiction are becoming meteorological facts.
As of 2300 GMT, Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 150 miles ( 240 kilometers ) per hour as it headed towards Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday, according to the NHC.
For some parts of Haiti, a hurricane watch and tropical storm warnings have also been issued.
