Hurricane Beryl, a monster with winds of 150 mph, tore off roofs, snapped trees and knocked out power when it hit the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean on Monday.
It was too early to fully assess the impact of the Category 4 hurricane, but initial reports suggested widespread damage and flooding from the storm.
“It’s bad and we haven’t seen the worst of it yet. The next few hours will be worse,” said the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Ralf Gonçalves he told the Miami Herald in an interview around noon Monday, as the center of the storm approached. “As it gets closer to us, we will get the full effect of the hurricane.”
Gonsalves said the eye’s passage over the southern Grenadines “caused severe damage in Grenada and we are picking up other bands of wind.”
“We are receiving a lot of rain and huge waves. Many houses lost their roofs and the impact has not yet reached us,” said Gonsalves. “In Carriacou they lost a lot of roofs and in the Union Islands.”
Wind gusts of 175 mph were recorded in Carriacou and Petite Martinique in the southern Grenadines. Beryl struck the southern part of a series of islands known as the Windward Islands as the strongest hurricane on record to begin the season.
In preparation for the hurricane’s passage, several islands in the storm’s path closed on Sunday morning, which included halting all air travel. Before the storm, Gonsalves declared a disaster area for the entire country, while the government of Grenada declared a state of emergency.
“It’s bad, without a doubt, many houses are inoperative, the electricity is off. It’s bad, it’s bad,” said Gonsalves.
