Category 5 Hurricane Beryl, the earliest recorded in the Atlantic hurricane season, has hit the southeastern Antilles with maximum force, causing significant damage and at least one death in the archipelago of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to the first bulletin from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), which on Monday had considered the effects of the storm to be “potentially catastrophic”, the winds unleashed by Beryl had intensified to nearly 270 km/h.
In its second report (09:00 GMT), the Miami-based agency said it expects the storm to “weaken” when it reaches the coast of Jamaica on Wednesday, although dangerous conditions will remain for residents in the region.
“The eye of Beryl will continue to move rapidly across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea today (Tuesday) and is expected to pass near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands on Thursday,” it said, adding that “it should still be close to major hurricane intensity.”
According to the NHC, Beryl is “the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic.”
Climate crisis
After losing some intensity over the weekend, Beryl regained strength on Monday, reaching the highest category of the Saffir-Simpson scale when it reached Carriacou Island, in Grenada.
“Within half an hour, Carriacou was devastated,” declared Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, although no deaths or injuries were reported. The state of emergency “remains in effect.”
AFP images show torrential rain and strong winds lashing Grenada’s capital St. George’s. A meeting of the Caribbean regional bloc Caricom due to take place this week has had to be postponed.
“It is clear that the climate crisis is driving natural disasters to new record levels of destruction,” said UN Climate Change Fund (UNFCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, whose family in Carriacou is among those affected by Beryl.
“The climate crisis is going from bad to worse and faster than expected,” he told AFP on Monday evening, stressing that this requires “much more ambitious climate action by governments and businesses.”
St Vincent and the Grenadines also suffered “catastrophic winds and life-threatening storm surges” that left devastation, devastation and at least one death, according to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.
“There could be more victims, we are not sure,” Gonsalves added on Facebook.
The NHC forecast storm surges along the southern coasts of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, which include the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The Dominican Republic government has issued a red alert for the provinces of Barahona and Pedernales.
Jamaica has issued a hurricane warning ahead of the storm’s expected arrival on Wednesday, with the NHC predicting “life-threatening winds and storm surge.”
The US agency urged the Cayman Islands and several areas of the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico to take extreme measures in response to the advance of Beryl.
Strong winds and torrential rains were reported in Barbados, the easternmost of the Windward Islands (archipelago of the Lesser Antilles). Many houses and businesses were flooded and fishing boats were damaged in Bridgetown, although no injuries were reported.
“We had a narrow escape,” said Home Secretary Wilfred Abrahams.
On the French island of Martinique, a tropical storm warning has been issued and around 10,000 homes have been left without electricity in different areas.
An unusual cyclone
Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.
Experts say it is unusual for such a powerful cyclone to form so early in the season.
“There have only been five major hurricanes (Category 3+) recorded in the Atlantic before the first week of July,” expert Michael Lowry told the X network.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also predicted an extraordinary season in late May, with the possibility of four to seven Category 3 hurricanes or higher.
The agency cited warm temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and conditions associated with the La Niña weather phenomenon in the Pacific to explain the increase in storms.
In recent years, extreme weather events, including hurricanes, have become more frequent and devastating as a result of climate change.