2024-07-06 01:03:56
The category four storm brought wind gusts of up to 215 kilometers per hour to the south coast of Jamaica. Images of floodwaters pouring through streets and wind ripping off roofs appeared on social media.
The storm has killed at least seven people so far in the Caribbean. It has now been downgraded to a Category 3 storm and is expected to make landfall in Mexico later Friday.
“This is horrible. Everything is gone. I’m in my house and I’m scared,” Amoy Wellington, a resident of the rural farming community in southern St. Elizabeth Parish, was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency. “It’s a disaster.”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness earlier urged people to “take this hurricane seriously”.
“If you live in a low-lying area, in an area historically prone to flooding and landslides, or if you live on a river bank or in a ditch, please evacuate to a shelter or a safer place,” he said.
Three people were killed in Grenada, where the storm made its first landfall on Monday, one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and three more in northern Venezuela, which was hit by strong winds and flooding.
Union Island, which belongs to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was the hardest hit, with about 90 percent destroyed or severely damaged by the storm. House.
Parts of Jamaica have experienced power outages in the past, and the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) said it was forced to suspend the restoration of power lines in some areas for the safety of workers.
NHC director Dr. Michael Brennan told a news conference that Jamaica would experience “devastating hurricane-force winds.”
The director explained that some parts of the country could see up to 30 centimeters of rain, leading to flash floods and mudslides, and life-threatening storm surges of up to 2.7m above the flood level.
“Every Jamaican needs to be in their own safe place and be prepared to stay there for at least the next 12 hours,” warned Dr. M. Brennan.
The BBC’s Nick Davis said Jamaicans rushed to supermarkets earlier in the week to stock up as quickly as possible.
Jamaican Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said the island has 900 shelters to accommodate people who need to leave their homes.
In Venezuela, Hurricane Beryl brought heavy rains that caused a river to overflow in the northern state of Sucre. Three people were killed and several are still missing. A government delegation inspecting the damage was crushed by a falling tree.
President Nicolas Maduro said Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was among the injured. He said she was “severely injured but conscious”.
In Mexico, where Hurricane Beryl is expected in the coming days, residents of Cancun also rushed to supermarkets to stock up. Some found only empty shelves there.
The NHC said Hurricane Beryl formed much earlier than normal during the hurricane season. Meteorologists also noted that Hurricane Beryl developed unusually quickly.
The storm strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane within 42 hours, hurricane expert Sam Lillo told the Associated Press.
Predicted path of hurricane witch
In Texas, officials have warned residents to prepare for the possible arrival of Hurricane Beryl this weekend.
On Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott told residents near the Atlantic coast to “watch the bay” and “have an emergency plan to take care of yourself and your loved ones.”
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned that as many as seven major hurricanes could form in the North Atlantic this year, compared to the average of three per season.
2024-07-06 01:03:56