Hurricane Beryl kills at least seven in Caribbean and heads toward Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica (Associated Press) Hurricane Beryl At least seven people were killed in a powerful Category 4 storm that lashed Jamaica on Wednesday, bringing fierce winds and heavy rain. It caused great damage in the southeastern Caribbean..

The US National Hurricane Center said Beryl’s eyewall was “grazing the southern coast of Jamaica.”

The storm raged on the island for hours, with residents heeding calls from authorities to evacuate until the storm passed, and much of the capital lost power.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on Wednesday afternoon that about 500 people had been accommodated in evacuation centres.

By evening, he said Jamaica had not experienced “the worst that could happen.”

“We will do everything we humanly can and leave the rest in God’s hands,” Holness said.

Several roads in settlements in the country’s interior were damaged by fallen trees and power poles, while several communities in the north lost power, according to the government information service.

Pauline Lynch, a Kingston resident, said she had stockpiled food and water in preparation for the storm’s arrival. With winds already bringing rain, Lynch said, “I can’t control what’s going to happen so I can only pray that all the people of Jamaica are safe and that there are no deaths or losses.”

By midday the wind was already howling in the capital, and the sea was raging with whitecaps as Beryl’s eye skimmed the southern coast of the island.

“We are extremely concerned about the range of life-threatening impacts expected in Jamaica, including storm surges, strong winds and flash flooding,” AccuWeather chief meteorologist John Porter said.

Porter called Beryl “probably the most powerful and dangerous hurricane threat Jamaica has faced in recent decades.”

Hurricane warnings have been issued for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, and the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun. Beryl is forecast to weaken slightly over the next day or two but will still maintain major hurricane strength or near major hurricane strength as it passes near the Cayman Islands on Thursday and enters Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula late Thursday or Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Jamaica was declared a disaster area and under a state of emergency just hours before Beryl hit, and Holness said the state of disaster would remain in place for the next seven days.

Evacuation orders have been issued for areas at risk of flooding and landslides across Jamaica. Holness urged Jamaicans to stay away from low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, preparations were underway for Beryl’s arrival.

Mexico’s civil defense chief said Beryl was expected to produce a rare double strike for Mexico. Laura Velazquez said the hurricane was expected to make landfall on the relatively sparsely populated Caribbean coast between Tulum and the inland town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. The coast is made up mainly of lagoons and mangrove forests, so there are few resorts or hotels south of Tulum.

on wednesday, Mexican officials have removed sea turtle eggs from Cancun’s beaches This is to protect against high tides.

The hurricane is expected to weaken to a tropical depression as it moves across the Yucatan Peninsula and make landfall again in the Gulf of Mexico at storm strength over the weekend. Velazquez said Beryl is then expected to strike Mexican territory again in the Gulf coast states of Veracruz or Tamaulipas, near the Texas border.

Late Monday, Beryl became the first storm in the Atlantic to become a Category 5 hurricane. It peaked at wind speeds of 165 mph (270 kph) on Tuesday but has since weakened to a still-destructive Category 4. Late Wednesday night, the storm’s center was about 560 miles (905 km) east-southeast of Tulum, Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 21 mph (32 kph). Hurricane-force winds extended out to 45 miles from the center.

In Miami, Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in an online briefing that island residents should plan to evacuate throughout the day Wednesday as conditions only began to improve overnight.

Jamaica’s south coast, where Kingston is located, is expected to be the hardest hit by Beryl, with coastal waters expected to rise by 6 to 9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 metres) above normal tides in some areas.

He said heavy rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with up to a foot in isolated areas, was expected, with flash flooding and landslides possible on mountainous islands.

As Beryl sped through the Caribbean, rescue teams from southeastern islands dispersed to assess the extent of the damage the hurricane had caused on the Grenadian island of Carriacou.

Michelle Forbes, St. Vincent and the Grenadines director for the National Emergency Management Organization, said about 95 percent of homes on Mayreau and Union Island were damaged by Hurricane Beryl.

Officials said three people were reported dead in Grenada and Carriacou, and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Three more were killed and five are missing in northern Venezuela, where heavy rains caused by Beryl have affected about 25,000 people.

One person was killed in Grenada when a tree fell on a house, Environment Minister Kerryn James told The Associated Press.

Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said Tuesday that there was no power, roads were impassable and the possibility of a rising death toll “remains a harsh reality.”

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has pledged to rebuild the islands.

The last powerful hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.

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Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson in Mexico City, Coral Murphy Marcos in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Lucanus Ollivierre in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, contributed to this report.