Hurricane Beryl strengthened on Sunday and is heading toward the Caribbean with “extremely dangerous” winds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour, carrying “potentially fatal” risks for the Antilles.
• Read also: The Caribbean is threatened by Hurricane Beryl
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami (United States), the reference, warned that Hurricane Beryl, a category 4 storm, which was moving about 400 kilometers southeast of Barbados on Sunday evening, accompanied by strong winds of at least 209 kilometers per hour. It will remain an “extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane” when it reaches the coasts of several Caribbean islands during the day on Monday.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the islands of Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.
“All preparations must be completed today,” the National Health Centre added, urging residents to listen to local authorities and emergency services officials.
In Barbados, motorists stormed gas stations to stock up on gasoline before the storm arrived.
Supermarkets and small grocery stores were filled with customers stocking up on water, food and other necessities, while residents could be seen almost everywhere hanging boards in front of their windows for protection.
France Press agency
A weather event of this magnitude is extremely rare this early in the hurricane season — which runs from early June to late November in the United States.
The “most intense” season.
“Only five major hurricanes (force 3 or greater) had been recorded in the Atlantic before the first week of July. If Beryl does indeed become a major hurricane, it would be the sixth, and the earliest, hurricane ever recorded in the East,” explains hurricane expert Michael Lowry on X.
On Saturday, Martinique, Dominica and the island of Tobago were placed under a tropical storm watch.
A state of emergency has been declared on Tobago, the second island and tourist destination in the Trinidad and Tobago archipelago, due to the hurricane's passage on Monday.
France Press agency
“This island of Tobago is in a state of emergency,” the island’s chief executive, Farley Augustine, announced at a press conference on Sunday, explaining that “all public and private schools are closed tomorrow (Monday) and will remain so until further notice.”
Shakir Page, Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service, said that Hurricane Beryl could carry winds of more than 215 kilometers per hour, stressing that “Beryl could be a life-threatening hurricane.”
In the Dominican Republic, authorities put the entire southern coast on alert, according to a statement from the Emergency Operations Center (COE), advising against going to beaches or crossing waterways.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an exceptional season at the end of May, predicting the possibility of four to seven Category 3 or higher hurricanes.
Météo-France also declared the 2024 hurricane season to be one of the “most intense” in this region.
The administration said that these forecasts are particularly linked to the expected development of the “La Nina” weather phenomenon in the near future, as well as extremely high temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean.
Global warming is making extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, more frequent and more destructive.
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