Hurricane Beryl tracker: 'Total devastation' in parts of Caribbean; Jamaica sees damage
Hundreds of thousands without power reported in Jamaica as storm heads for Cayman Islands, Yucatan
Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 to ever form in the Atlantic, brought near “total destruction” to parts of the Caribbean as it churned its way across the tropics this week.
About 90% of buildings and homes on three small islands in the eastern Caribbean were destroyed or damaged when Beryl made landfall earlier this week, officials said at a news conference held by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.
From there, Beryl hit Jamaica on Wednesday, causing widespread outages and damage before passing over the Cayman Islands and heading toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. While the storm has weakened from its earlier state, it is still a very dangerous Category 3 hurricane.
Here’s what you need to know about the damage Beryl has caused and its continued path.
Tracking Hurricane Beryl's current path
Beryl passed near the Cayman Islands Thursday morning and was headed towards the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 mph.
As of Thursday morning, a hurricane warning was in effect for the Grand Cayman, the Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac islands, as well as the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun, including the island of Cozumel.
Storm warnings and watches are also in effect up and down the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize.
While there are no warnings or watches issued for parts of the U.S. yet, those in the western Gulf of Mexico, including southern Texas, were advised to continue monitoring Beryl’s path.
Storm warnings are issued for an area in which weather conditions are expected to arrive within 36 hours, while watches are issued when the conditions are expected to arrive within 48 hours.
Beryl's damage and impact
In Jamaica, two deaths were reported by NBC News, and hundreds of thousands of customers were without power, according to local media.
Beryl did the most severe damage when it made landfall earlier this week on the Grenadines, a small belt of islands in the Eastern Caribbean. At least 90% or more of the homes and buildings were destroyed or damaged on three small islands, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.
While several deaths have been reported on these islands, officials at the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency declined to confirm a death toll at Wednesday’s news conference.
Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell described the "total destruction" to the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique in Grenada at a news conference Wednesday.
"Having seen it myself, there is really nothing that can prepare you to see this level of destruction," Mitchell said. "It is almost Armageddon-like, almost total damage and destruction of all buildings, whether they be public buildings, homes or private facilities."
Mitchell also described "complete devastation and destruction" of agriculture and the natural environment, and severe damage to boats, marinas, and the electrical grid on Carriacou.
Experts shocked by Beryl's rapid intensification
Michael Lowry, a hurricane and storm surge expert, told the Associated Press that the rapid development of Beryl marked a "very serious threat."
"Beryl is an extremely dangerous and rare hurricane for this time of year in this area," he said in a phone interview with the AP. "Unusual is an understatement. Beryl is already a historic hurricane."
On Monday, Beryl became the earliest Atlantic hurricane to reach the Category 5 level. (It is both the earliest Category 4 and Category 5 storm on record in the Atlantic.)
The last strong hurricane to affect the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan in September 2004. Ivan battered Grenada as a Category 3 and killed 39 people.
The start of a busy Atlantic hurricane season
Beryl's emergence also marks an ominous start to the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which typically doesn't ramp up until late July or August.
And experts agree that this could be one of the busiest hurricane seasons on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in May that it expected eight to 13 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with four to seven of them classified as major hurricanes, meaning at least 111 mph winds.
