Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean leaves at least 4 dead. Category 5 alert Expert: “potentially catastrophic”

Hurricane Beryl has strengthened to a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 storm, reaching the top step on the Saffir-Simpson tropical storm scale, with winds of 160 mph (260 kph), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said as the tropical cyclone continued to batter the Caribbean. “Beryl is now a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane: Variations in intensity are possible, but it is expected to remain close to that intensity” as it moves toward Jamaica on Tuesday, the NHC said in a statement. Authorities reported three deaths in Grenada and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

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Disorder

The warning was lifted on Sunday, as the hurricane began to move towards the Caribbean with “extremely dangerous” winds exceeding 200 km/h, with a “potentially deadly” threat to the West Indies. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami (USA) had warned that Beryl, which was moving about 240 km southeast of Barbados, would remain an “extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane” when it reaches the coasts of several Caribbean islands. Monday. For this reason, a hurricane warning was issued for the islands of Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. In Grenada, Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell urged residents to seek shelter quickly and to abide by an island-wide curfew.

A meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) that was scheduled to take place on the island this week has also been postponed. In Barbados, motorists thronged gas stations to stock up on gasoline ahead of the storm. Supermarkets and small grocery stores were packed with customers stocking up on water, food and other essentials, while residents were seen everywhere hanging boards out of their windows to protect themselves.

former

According to experts, a weather phenomenon of this magnitude is extremely rare at the beginning of the hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November in the United States. “Only five major hurricanes (force 3 or greater) have been recorded in the Atlantic before the first week of July. If Beryl does indeed become a major hurricane, it will be the sixth and oldest ever recorded in the East,” hurricane expert Michael Lowry explained on Channel X. On Saturday, Martinique, Dominica and the island of Tobago were placed under tropical storm watch. A state of emergency has been declared on Tobago, the second-largest island and tourist attraction in the Trinidad and Tobago archipelago. “The island of Tobago is in a state of emergency,” the island’s chief executive, Farley Augustine, said at a press conference on Sunday, adding that “all public and private schools are closed on Monday and will remain closed until further notice.” Shakir Baig, director of the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service, said that Hurricane Beryl could produce winds in excess of 215 kilometers per hour, stressing that “Beryl is a life-threatening hurricane.”

Alert

In the Dominican Republic, authorities have placed the entire southern coast on alert, according to a statement from the Emergency Operations Center (COE), advising people not to go to the beaches or cross rivers. After crossing the Caribbean Sea, Beryl could reach the Mexican state of Quintana Roo (east), where the coastal resorts of Cancun and Riviera Maya are located, on Tuesday evening. “We are on alert with the Civil Protection, the Defense Secretariat and the Navy (…) to monitor its path. According to the forecasts, it will last until Thursday or Friday,” said Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “At the moment, (Beryl) does not represent a danger to Mexican territory,” said the National Meteorological Service. Mexican authorities issued another warning about Storm Chris forming in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday evening, the third Atlantic system of the season. Chris was 165 kilometers (100 miles) from the port of Tuxpan (east) in the state of Veracruz, with winds reaching 65 kilometers per hour. Rain is expected to fall overnight in the east, center and north of the country.

Airports closed in the Caribbean

Airports were closed and businesses shuttered across the Caribbean yesterday as residents were urged to seek shelter ahead of the feared Hurricane Beryl. Dozens of flights have been cancelled across the region, the BBC reported, adding that a warning was in effect for Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines. “This is no joke,” St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said, recalling the devastation caused by past hurricanes in the Caribbean. Addressing the nation from his official residence, Gonsalves said he would take refuge in the basement of his home. “The roof, and certainly the old part of the roof, may not be able to withstand 150mph winds,” he added. “I’m getting ready to go down.” The US National Hurricane Center said the hurricane was likely to continue to churn, but warned that parts of the Windward Islands should brace for “potentially catastrophic wind damage.” After hitting the coasts of Barbados, the island of Carriacou in Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines last night, Hurricane Beryl will cross the Caribbean with the potential for widespread devastation. This is the first time in history that a hurricane has hit the region in June. In fact, such a powerful storm at the beginning of the hurricane season, which runs in the Atlantic Ocean from early June to late November, is extremely rare. According to forecasts, winds of more than 100 kilometers per hour and heavy rains are also expected to hit Dominica, the islands of Martinique and Tobago, before reaching the southeastern coast of Mexico, where it is expected to become a tropical storm. Local governments have issued a hurricane warning and urged people to seek shelter.

Coming to Mexico

After hitting Granada, Beryl will also reach Mexico, where it will degrade. It is estimated that between Thursday and Friday it will reach the state of Quintana Roo in the Yucatan Peninsula with an intensity corresponding to category 1 or 2, and that between Saturday and Sunday it will land again between the states of Veracruz and Tamaulipas. Category 1. said Alejandra Méndez Girón, general coordinator of the National Meteorological Service. The official explained that this system corresponds to phenomena that usually occur in August, which is why it is defined as “early”, and that it has only been preceded twice by similar cases, once in 1957 and another in 1966.

Biden’s words

US President Joe Biden and his team said they were “closely monitoring the development of Hurricane Beryl” and working “to ensure the safety of all American citizens in the area.”