The storm was downgraded to Category 2 as it hit a major tourist destination, knocking out power and putting authorities on alert.
Hurricane Beryl was downgraded to a Category 2 storm as it hit Mexico’s east coast, causing widespread power outages and putting authorities on high alert.
Friday’s landing on the Yucatan Peninsula – an area popular with tourists – came after Beryl cut a path of destruction across the Caribbean, killing at least 11 people as it swept through Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the north of Venezuela.
The first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season also made history, reaching category 5 as it crossed the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first storm of this severity ever recorded during the season, a phenomenon attributed in part to man-made climate change.
Climate scientists have repeatedly warned of longer and more severe hurricane seasons as global temperatures continue to rise.
Although Beryl’s winds decreased to 160 km/h (100 mph) when it hit the region northeast of Tulum on Friday, its severity was still enough for Mexico’s civil protection agency to issue a red alert, signaling a threat. of maximum danger. The agency advised residents to remain in their homes or seek refuge in storm shelters.
No deaths were immediately reported in Mexico, according to Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, who reported from Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
The storm was expected to pass through the Gulf of Mexico before hitting the US state of Texas.
“The wind was whistling very, very strong. There are fallen branches. There is no power in many areas and telephone communication is also down,” Newman said.
“This hurricane is now heading toward the Gulf of Mexico, slowing down or slowing down as it moves through Mexico, dropping water that can cause storm surges and also landslides,” he added.
“But eventually, when it hits the Gulf of Mexico, the problem is that the warm waters could strengthen it again… So we’re still going to have Hurricane Beryl for at least a few more days, according to forecasters.”
In Quintana Roo, home of the important tourist destination Cancún, governor Mara Lezama posted a video showing strong winds and rain. He urged residents to take all necessary precautions as the impact of the storm is expected to be felt across the state.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador repeated the advice, urging those in the storm’s path to seek shelter at higher elevations or other safer areas.
“The most important thing is life,” he wrote on social media.
Around 100 domestic and international flights scheduled between Thursday and Friday were canceled at Cancún airport.
The Mexican army sent approximately 8,000 soldiers to Tulum and said it had food supplies and 34,000 liters (9,000 gallons) of purified water to distribute to the population.
The storm caused widespread destruction across the Caribbean, with 60% of Jamaica remaining without electricity as of Friday morning.
Three people were killed in Grenada, another three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, according to authorities.
Although it is extremely rare for such powerful storms to form so early in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November, ocean temperatures have been warmer than normal.
North Atlantic waters remain between 1 and 3 degrees Celsius (1.8-5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), contributing to the necessary conditions for the formation of severe hurricanes.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
