Hurricane Beryl kills at least four in West Indies, heads toward Jamaica

Hurricane Beryl, which swept through the southeastern Antilles at maximum strength on Tuesday, has caused extensive damage and killed at least four people, but is expected to lose some of its intensity off the coast of Jamaica on Wednesday, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

• Read also: Hurricane Beryl hits Grenada in West Indies

• Read also: Storm Beryl threatens to become a major hurricane before reaching the Antilles

At around 11 p.m. local time on Monday (3 a.m. GMT on Tuesday), the NHC rated Beryl a Category 5, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale used to describe storm intensity. That corresponds to winds of more than 155 mph (252 km/h) and “potentially catastrophic” impacts.

Tuesday at 6 a.m. GMT, in its first advisory of the day, the National Hurricane Center said winds had strengthened to nearly 165 mph (270 km/h). Beryl is now expected to “weaken” later Tuesday, according to the 9 a.m. GMT advisory, but the danger remains.

The Eye of Beryl will continue to develop rapidly across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea today. [mardi] It is expected to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday. “It should remain close to major hurricane intensity,” he added.

Before being upgraded to Category 5, Hurricane Carriacou devastated a beautiful island in Grenada on Monday.

Grenada's Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell told reporters that two people were killed there and one on neighbouring Grenada, the main island of the small archipelago.

The official noted that winds reached speeds of 240 kilometres per hour in Kariakoo, which was “destroyed in half an hour”.

“We have had almost no contact with Kariakou over the past 12 hours, except this morning briefly via satellite phone,” he added on Tuesday.

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“It is clear that the climate crisis is pushing disasters to new levels of devastation,” said Simon Steele, a U.N. climate official whose family in Kariakoo was among the victims. His late grandmother’s home was destroyed and his parents’ home was also badly damaged, according to his office.

“The climate crisis is going from bad to worse, and faster than expected,” he added in a statement to AFP overnight Monday to Tuesday, which requires “more ambitious climate action from governments and businesses” in response.

In the neighboring archipelago of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Beryl sowed havoc and left at least one person dead, according to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.

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“Unfortunately, one person was killed. There could be more victims, we are not sure,” he added in a video on Facebook. “90% of the homes were severely damaged or destroyed on one of the islands where the airport roof was ripped off.”

“Oldest” Hurricane

In Barbados, homes and businesses were flooded and fishing boats were damaged in Bridgetown. “It looks like we've had a narrow escape,” Interior and Information Minister Wilfred Abrahams said in a video, even if there was still a fear of strong winds.

On the French island of Martinique, which is on a tropical storm alert, just like southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic, winds have been picking up since Sunday afternoon, with temporary, but not exceptional, heavy rains, according to AFP correspondents on the scene.

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About 10,000 customers were without electricity in Martinique in various municipalities, according to EDF.

Flooded streets and a boat stranded on the beach of Plage de la Française in downtown Fort-de-France on Tuesday morning were the scene of the hurricane that swept through the Martinique capital overnight, an AFP journalist reported. “In the city center, the water was knee-deep in the evening,” said Steve Moreau, deputy mayor of Fort-de-France.

In neighboring Guadeloupe, some sailboats were completely wrecked on the coast and a group of vehicles were damaged in a parking lot. Firefighters also reported some marine flooding and fires caused by the spray.

Beryl is the first hurricane of the season in the Atlantic Ocean.

A weather event of this magnitude is extremely rare this early in the U.S. hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.

The National Hurricane Center (NOAA) has predicted an exceptional season through the end of May, with the possibility of four to seven Category 3 or higher hurricanes.

These forecasts are particularly linked to the expected development of the La Nina weather phenomenon, as well as very high temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean have been steadily developing for more than a year at record levels, well above historical records, according to public data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).