Wednesday witnessed Hurricane Beryl, a formidable Category 4 storm, lashing Jamaica with violent winds and intense rainfall. This came after causing considerable devastation in the southeast Caribbean and claiming no less than seven lives. The US National Hurricane Centre reported that the periphery of the hurricane was skimming Jamaica’s southern coast.
The tempest rained havoc on the island for several hours as locals heeded the government’s appeal to seek refuge until the storm abated. The capital saw widespread power outages. Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, disclosed on Wednesday afternoon that approximately 500 individuals had sought shelter. Come evening, he warned that the nation had yet to bear witness to the full potential of the storm’s devastation.
As the Prime Minister noted, “We will do our utmost, within our human capabilities, and entrust the remainder to the Almighty”. Fallen trees and utility poles obstructed roads within the rural settlements of Jamaica, while certain northern communities found themselves bereft of power.
By midday, ferocious winds were already making their presence felt in the capital, causing tumultuous sea conditions as the eye of Hurricane Beryl veered close to the southern coast of the island. AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist, Jon Porter, expressed deep concern over a range of deadly impacts on Jamaica ranging from storm surges, high winds, to flash floods. Porter labelled Beryl as the most formidable and perilous hurricane to threaten Jamaica in many years.
Jamaica, along with the Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, as well as the Mexican coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula stretching from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun, were all under a hurricane warning. Beryl was expected to lose some of its intensity over the next day or two, but it is predicted to maintain its major-hurricane strength as it approaches the Cayman Islands on Thursday and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula late Thursday or Friday, says the US National Hurricane Centre.
In anticipation of Beryl’s arrival, a state of emergency was declared in Jamaica and the island was classified as a disaster zone. The Prime Minister confirmed that this status would persist for the next week. Communities across Jamaica vulnerable to landslides and inundation had been ordered to evacuate. The Prime Minister urged Jamaicans to relocate from areas prone to flooding.
Preparations were also underway on Mexico’s Caribbean coast in anticipation of Beryl’s arrival.
The chief of Mexico’s civil defence sector, Laura Velazquez, has warned of the unusual situation of Hurricane Beryl hitting Mexico twice. The hurricane, anticipated to land on a sparsely populated part of the Caribbean coast between Tulum and the inland area of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, is predicted to downgrade to a tropical storm as it travels through the Yucatan peninsula. Over the course of the weekend, the storm is forecast to regain strength in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ms Velazquez stated that Beryl will likely strike Mexican territory once again, this time in the Gulf coast states of Veracruz or Tamaulipas, close to the border with Texas. On Monday night, Beryl turned into the earliest storm to escalate into a Category 5 hurricane in Atlantic history, gaining maximum speeds of 270kph on Tuesday before losing some power but still maintaining to be a highly destructive Category 4.
By late Wednesday night, the eye of the storm was located approximately 905km east-southeast of Tulum, Mexico, boasting sustained winds of 215kph and traveling at a pace of 32kph towards the west-northwest. The hurricane’s forceful winds extended 72km from its core.
In an online briefing, Michael Brennan, the director of Miami’s hurricane centre, urged residents in Jamaica to take shelter all day on Wednesday due to worsening conditions only starting to let up after dark. With coastal water levels in some regions predicted to surge to 1.8m to 2.7m higher than regular tide levels, the south coast of Jamaica, particularly where Kingston is situated, is expected to end up being the worst hit by Beryl. Extensive rainfall of four to eight inches is foreseen, even reaching twelve inches in some locations, with the hilly island at risk of flash floods and landslides. — AP