In update
“The hurricane came and went, leaving behind a huge trail of destruction.” These were the words of the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on the day that Beryl, a powerful Category 5 hurricane, began to move away from the region. During its passage through several islands in the region, it has already caused six deaths, according to reports in the international press. It is now heading to Jamaica, where on Tuesday part of the population was stocking up on supplies to cope with the expected wave of devastation.
“It is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it”a resident of the Jamaican capital told the New York Times, in view of the busy streets and packed supermarkets preceding the arrival of the hurricane. According to the US Hurricane Center (NHC), it is expected to reach the region on Wednesday.
Beryl, which began as a tropical storm, became the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season. No other Atlantic storm had reached Category 5 strength so early at the time, meteorologist Philip Klotzbach told The New York Times. Beryl went from a Category 1 storm to a Category 4 storm in less than 10 hours, Andra Garner, a meteorologist at Rowan University, told Reuters. This marks the fastest intensification ever recorded before September, the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, she explained.
Strong gusts of wind from Hurricane Beryl are beginning to be felt at Playa Caleta in La Romana, as the storm approaches the east of the Dominican Republic ??????????pic.twitter.com/geQophPTPC
— Volcaholic ???? (@volcaholic1) July 2, 2024
Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines after Hurricane Beryl 🙁pic.twitter.com/3PejE6a4pD
— Volcaholic ???? (@volcaholic1) July 2, 2024
The hurricane first reached Category 5 status, where winds can reach speeds of 155 mph, late Monday afternoon. It weakened and fell to a lower category on Tuesday, but is now back to Level 5.
The phenomenon is being monitored by several organizations, including NASA, which shared images of the hurricane captured from the International Space Station on Monday morning. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States of America (NOAA) published on Tuesday a lapse of time which explains Beryl’s rapid evolution over the last four days.
He @Spacial station Captured these images of Hurricane Beryl in the Atlantic Ocean on the morning of Monday, July 1.
What is the station watching now? Watch our 24/7 live stream: https://t.co/y56LYTwdPd pic.twitter.com/BC35UqK2EU
— NASA (@NASA) July 1, 2024
For #TimelapseTuesdaythis #GeoColor images of @NOAA‘s #LETSGOThis The satellite shows the first 4 days of #Berylwhen the storm weakened from a tropical cyclone in the western Atlantic Ocean to a Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.
More in #HurricaneBeryl:… pic.twitter.com/sWSLLUUKNe
—NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) July 2, 2024
The hurricane devastated a number of infrastructures, including homes, schools and hospitals, as it passed through Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday. On one of the archipelago’s islands, 90% of the houses were “seriously damaged or destroyed,” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said, as quoted by Reuters.
Grenada was also hit hard. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell revealed that Carriacou and Petite Martinique, two of the islands that make up the country, were the hardest hit. “The situation is grim. There is no electricity. Most of the houses and buildings have been destroyed,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
In an update on social media site X (formerly Twitter), the NHC warned of Beryl’s imminent arrival in Jamaica. It also noted that the next target will be the Cayman Islands, which are expected to be affected starting Wednesday night.
Here are the key messages from Tuesday at 5 p.m. EDT on the hurricane #Beryl over the central Caribbean. Hurricane warnings are in effect for #Jamaica and the #Cayman IslandsPreparations must be accelerated to protect life and property. pic.twitter.com/sYUCNm5SUt
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 2, 2024
As a preview, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness ordered the closure of all government services except essential services on Wednesday. According to the operators responsible, the country’s main airports are also expected to close this afternoon.
At a press conference this week, Holness also called for the evacuation of citizens from low-lying areas, especially along the southern coast, where Beryl is expected to pass. “I fully understand that people do not want to leave their property, but the most important thing is their lives,” he said.
The storm’s abnormally early arrival and rapid intensification into a hurricane are due in part to rising ocean temperatures, several scientists told reporters, adding that climate change is part of the problem.
Source: Observadora
