Hurricane Beryl's Fury Unleashed: A Historic Category 5 Storm Rattles the Caribbean

 

AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan

Hurricane Beryl, now a monstrous Category 5 storm, roared through open waters on Tuesday, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake and setting its sights on Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. After wreaking havoc in the southeast Caribbean, where it claimed at least four lives, Beryl is now a formidable force of nature threatening more destruction.

Currently, Jamaica is under a hurricane warning, with the Cayman Islands on high alert as a hurricane watch is in effect for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. The National Hurricane Center forecasts that Beryl will begin to lose some of its intensity on Tuesday but is still expected to remain near major hurricane strength as it approaches Jamaica on Wednesday, the Cayman Islands on Thursday, and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday.

Beryl's approach is a dire warning for Jamaica, with officials urging residents in flood-prone areas to prepare for evacuation. Prime Minister Andrew Holness made an urgent appeal: “I am encouraging all Jamaicans to take the hurricane as a serious threat. It is, however, not a time to panic.”

Remarkably, Beryl has become the earliest Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic, fueled by unusually warm waters. As of early Tuesday, the storm was located about 300 miles southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic. With top winds reaching 165 mph, Beryl is an awe-inspiring force of nature.

The National Hurricane Center highlighted Beryl's formidable strength: “Beryl remains an impressive Category 5 hurricane.” The entire southern coast of Hispaniola is under a tropical storm warning, adding to the region's growing concern.

As Beryl churned through the Caribbean Sea, rescue teams spread out across the southeast Caribbean to assess the damage left in its wake. In Grenada and Carriacou, where Beryl made landfall as a Category 4 storm, three people lost their lives, and another fatality was reported in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In Grenada, a tree falling on a house resulted in one of the fatalities, as detailed by Kerryne James, Minister of Climate Resilience.

The impact on Carriacou and Petit Martinique has been severe, with water, food, and baby formula urgently needed. An emergency team is set to travel to Carriacou, where Beryl has flattened numerous homes and businesses. Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell painted a grim picture: “The situation is grim. There is no power, and there is almost complete destruction of homes and buildings on the island. The roads are not passable, and in many instances they are cut off because of the large quantity of debris strewn all over the streets.”

Mitchell also warned that the death toll could rise as movement remains restricted due to debris. Meanwhile, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has vowed to rebuild the devastated archipelago, where 90% of homes on Union Island have been destroyed.

The last major hurricane to strike the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan, which devastated Grenada 20 years ago. Grenadian resident Roy O’Neale, who lost his home to Ivan, recalled the terror of Beryl: “I felt the wind whistling, and then for about two hours straight, it was really, really terrifying at times.”

Beryl's destruction also touched the family of U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, whose parents' home on Carriacou was damaged. In a statement, Stiell emphasized the escalating climate crisis: “Whether in my homeland of Carriacou ... hammered by Hurricane Beryl, or in the heatwaves and floods crippling communities in some of the world’s largest economies, it’s clear that the climate crisis is pushing disasters to record-breaking new levels of destruction.”

Grenada, renowned for its nutmeg exports, is bracing for a significant impact on its spice industry, with the northern part of the island hardest hit. Prime Minister Mitchell acknowledged the challenge ahead: “We certainly expect that we’ll take a beating.”

Hurricane Beryl has broken several records, including being the farthest east a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June. It rapidly intensified from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours, a rare feat.

As the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Beryl's early arrival underscores a forecasted above-average hurricane season, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicting up to 25 named storms. The region braces for what could be a tumultuous season ahead.