Hurricane Beryl update: Storm hits Jamaica, then heads towards Cayman Islands

Barbados was caught in the tail end of Hurricane Beryl, which passed over the island on Monday as a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 130 mph, enough to cause major damage.

Fishermen in the area said all of the boats docked at Bridgetown’s marina suffered some damage, with several of them sinking completely after being swept away by the rising tide. Footage showed the marina’s waters littered with the remains of wreckage from destroyed boats.

The center of still-dangerous Category 3 Hurricane Beryl was just 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Grand Cayman as of 8 a.m. EDT this morning.

Reports from NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft said maximum sustained winds could be near 120 mph (195 km/h) with stronger gusts as Beryl moves into the region.

Beryl’s hurricane-force winds currently extend up to 45 miles (75 km) out from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extend up to 175 miles (280 km) out.

The storm surge could cause water levels along the Cayman Islands coast to rise by 2 to 4 feet above normal levels, potentially resulting in huge and destructive waves.

Beryl is also expected to bring rainfall totals of 4 to 6 inches to the Cayman Islands on Thursday, with similar results expected on the Yucatan Peninsula late today through Friday, where localized rainfall of up to 10 inches is possible.

Scattered flash flooding is expected in the region, with large wave swells currently occurring on parts of the coasts of Jamaica, Cuba and the Cayman Islands that could cause life-threatening rough seas and low tides.

These swells are expected to spread across parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and Central America later today, and across much of eastern Mexico and the U.S. Gulf Coast by late Friday.

Hurricane Beryl has already left a trail of destruction in Jamaica, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines this week, and preparations were already underway before it even reached the Cayman Islands.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated in the Cayman Islands, and 24 additional flights have been sent to help evacuate the islands, according to George Town officials. The New York Times report.

Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly appeared on Radio Cayman on Wednesday and urged residents to remain in place until the alert is lifted from 6pm on Wednesday, the paper reported.

“We can all face this together by staying calm, staying prepared, and looking out for one another,” she said. “Together, we can minimize the impacts of Hurricane Beryl and protect our communities.”

Hurricane Beryl destroyed homes, knocked out power and left at least one person confirmed dead after it passed near Jamaica on Wednesday.

But the island is no stranger to the ferocity of deadly hurricanes that batter the region.

Although many hurricanes have passed near Jamaica in recent years, only a few have actually made landfall in the country in the past 40 years.

The most famous hurricane was Hurricane Gilbert, which made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica on September 12, 1988 as a Category 4 hurricane and remains one of the most notorious storms in the country.

The devastating storm, with winds of 130 mph, caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and killed at least 45 people.

The eye of Hurricane Gilbert moved quickly across the island of Jamaica, with sustained winds slowing to 125 mph by the time it pulled off the west coast in the late afternoon.

Other notable hurricanes that have caused significant damage to Jamaica include Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in 2012.

The National Hurricane Center said there was uncertainty in forecasts of Beryl’s track and intensity in the western Gulf of Mexico this weekend.

Officials in eastern Mexico and southern Texas should monitor Beryl’s path, but regardless of which path the hurricane takes, rip currents could cause life-threatening coastal conditions along much of the Gulf Coast late Friday night and into the weekend.

Meanwhile, hurricane-force winds, dangerous storm surge and heavy rains are expected in parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize from Thursday night as Beryl approaches, while strong winds, dangerous storm surge, damaging waves and flooding are expected in the Cayman Islands today.

Laura Velazquez, head of Mexico’s civil defense agency, said the hurricane was expected to make landfall on the less populated Caribbean coast between Tulum and the inland town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

The coast there consists mainly of lagoons and mangroves, so there are few resorts or hotels in the area south of Tulum.

Velazquez said Beryl was then expected to make landfall again on Mexican territory, in the Gulf coast states of Veracruz or Tamaulipas, near the Texas border.

If Hurricane Beryl maintains strength, it could hit southern Texas and Louisiana over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Though the weather in Delhi was overcast, the atmosphere was lively as the team arrived from Barbados with the clanging of dhols, bouquets of flowers and a cake bearing a photo of the winning team.

Hurricane Beryl struck Jamaica on Wednesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power.

The country’s power company JPS said Thursday morning that 65% of its customers, or about 400,000 people, were without power.

The Jamaican government said on Wednesday that several roads in inland communities in the country had been damaged by fallen trees and power poles, causing power outages in parts of the north and the capital.