KINGSTON, Jamaica– KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Beryl It roared toward Jamaica on Wednesday, as islanders scrambled to make preparations after the powerful Category 4 storm killed at least six people and caused significant damage in the southeastern Caribbean.
In Kingston, people boarded up windows, fishermen pulled their boats out of the water before sitting around a bayside table playing dominoes, and workers dismantled roadside billboards to protect them from strong winds. that were expected.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Beryl is forecast to weaken slightly over the next two days, but will still be at or near major hurricane strength as it passes near or over Jamaica on Wednesday, near the Cayman Islands on Thursday and toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. on Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
A hurricane watch was in effect for the southern coast of Haiti and the eastern coast of Yucatan. Belize issued a tropical storm warning extending south from its border with Mexico to Belize City.
On Monday night, Beryl became the first storm to become a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, reaching peak winds of 165 mph (270 kph) on Tuesday before weakening to a still-destructive Category 4. Early Wednesday, the storm was about 185 miles (300 kilometers) east-southeast of Kingston. It had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph), the center said.
Beryl was expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica, where authorities warned residents in flood-prone areas to prepare to evacuate.
“I encourage all Jamaicans to consider the hurricane as a serious threat,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a public address on Tuesday. “However, this is not the time to panic.”
In Miami, the director of the US National Hurricane Center, Michael Brennan, said Jamaica appears to be in Beryl’s direct path. He urged residents to find a safe place to shelter and stay there until Wednesday.
“We are most concerned about Jamaica, where we expect the core of a major hurricane to pass near or over the island,” he said in an online briefing.
Storm surges of 6 to 9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 meters) above typical tide levels, as well as heavy rainfall, are likely in Jamaica.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for the entire southern coast of Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
As Beryl crossed the Caribbean Sea, rescue teams on the southeastern islands fanned out to determine the extent of damage the hurricane inflicted on Carriacou, an island in Grenada.
Three people were reported killed in Grenada and Carriacou and another in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, authorities said. Two more deaths were reported in northern Venezuela, where five people are missing, authorities said. Some 25,000 people in that area were also affected by the heavy rains from Beryl.
One death in Grenada occurred after a tree fell on a house, Environment Minister Kerryne James told The Associated Press. She said Carriacou and Petit Martinique suffered the most damage, with dozens of homes and businesses leveled in Carriacou.
Grenada Premier Dickon Mitchell said Tuesday that there was no power, roads were impassable and the possible rising death toll “remains a sad reality.”
The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, has promised to rebuild the archipelago. He noted that 90% of homes on Union Island were destroyed and that “similar levels of devastation” were expected on Myreau and Canouan islands.
The last major hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.
Grenada, known as the “spice island”, is one of the world’s leading exporters of nutmeg. Mitchell noted that most spices are grown in the northern part of the island, which was hardest hit by Beryl.
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