Beryl, the earliest Category 4 storm on record, is moving toward Jamaica after hitting Grenada’s Carriacou Island.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Beryl has strengthened into a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 storm as it heads toward Jamaica after downing power lines, damaging homes and flooding roads on other southeastern Caribbean islands.
Beryl, the earliest Category 4 storm on record, made landfall on Cariakwu Island in Grenada on Monday.
“Beryl is now a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane,” the NHS said in a statement issued at 11pm (3am GMT). “While there is likely to be variation in intensity… Beryl is still expected to be close to major hurricane strength as it moves across the Caribbean.”
According to the NHC, Carriacou took a direct hit earlier that day from the storm’s “very dangerous eyewall,” with sustained winds exceeding 240 km/h (150 mph).
The hurricane center said nearby islands, including Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, also experienced “destructive winds and life-threatening storm surge.”
“Carriacou was flat in 30 minutes,” Grenada’s Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell told a news conference. He said one person had died, but authorities were yet to assess the situation on Carriacou and Petite Martinique, where communications were nearly cut off.
“We hope there are no more deaths or injuries,” he said. “But bear in mind the difficulties we are experiencing in Cariacou and Petite Martinique.” Mitchell added that the government would send people early Tuesday to assess the situation on the islands.
The road from St. Lucia island south to Grenada was littered with shoes, trees, downed power lines and other debris. Several banana trees were snapped in half by the force of the wind.
“It’s really heartbreaking right now,” said Bishel Clarke-King as she looked around her sand-and-water-filled store in the Barbados capital of Bridgetown.
The storm is expected to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday, according to the Miami-based hurricane center.
The Jamaican government has issued a hurricane warning, while a tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of the Dominican Republic and the southern coast of Haiti.
Climate change effects
The last powerful hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens in Grenada.
Beryl became the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season on Saturday and quickly strengthened to a Category 4.
Experts say it’s extremely rare for such powerful storms to form during the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November, and climate change may have contributed to them forming so quickly.
Global warming has pushed temperatures in the North Atlantic to record highs, causing more surface water to evaporate, adding fuel to the fire for stronger hurricanes.
“Climate change poses a risk for more powerful hurricanes to form,” said Christopher Rozoff, an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado.
New Jersey meteorologist Andra Garner noted that Beryl went from a Category 1 storm to a Category 4 storm in less than 10 hours.
Her research found that over the past 50 years, rising ocean temperatures have more than doubled the likelihood that a weak storm will transform into a strong hurricane within 24 hours.
In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic this year, while also pointing to unusually high ocean temperatures.
Welton Anderson, a waiter at the Chillin’ restaurant in Kingston, said he felt calm despite the hurricane approaching.
“Jamaicans wait until the last minute. The panic starts the night before or the morning after because we are used to this,” he said.
On other islands in the eastern Caribbean, residents boarded up windows, stocked up on food and fueled their cars as the storm approached.
Mexican officials also began preparing for Beryl’s arrival later this week, with the federal government issuing a statement urging authorities and the public to exercise “extreme caution.”
