July 2nd 2024.
Hurricane Beryl, a powerful storm with devastating winds and storm surge fueled by the record warmth of the Atlantic, has reached Category 5 status. It made landfall on the island of Carriacou in Grenada, becoming the earliest Category 4 storm in the Atlantic. However, as the day went on, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that Beryl's winds had increased to 160 mph.
While the storm is expected to fluctuate in strength and eventually weaken, it is currently wreaking havoc on the southeastern Caribbean. Grenada's Prime Minister, Dickon Mitchell, reported one fatality and expressed concern for the safety of others, as communication on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique has been largely cut off. The government plans to send a team to assess the situation as soon as possible.
The streets of St. Lucia, Grenada, and other affected islands are littered with debris, and many homes and structures have been severely damaged. Vichelle Clark King, a shop owner in Bridgetown, Barbados, expressed her heartbreak as she surveyed the damage to her shop.
Beryl is currently moving towards the Caribbean Sea and is projected to pass near Jamaica before reaching Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1 storm. A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica and a tropical storm warning for the southern coast of Hispaniola. The National Hurricane Center expects the storm to maintain major hurricane intensity until it reaches the central Caribbean, and then weaken significantly.
The last major hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which caused widespread destruction and loss of life in Grenada. As Beryl continues to cause destruction in the area, officials have received reports of severe damage on the island of Carriacou and surrounding islands. The national disaster coordinator for Grenada, Terence Walters, reported that the hospital had to evacuate patients to a lower floor due to roof damage.
Barbados is also experiencing the effects of Beryl, with Wilfred Abrahams, the minister of home affairs and information, saying that drones will be used to assess damage once the storm passes. Many travelers, including Jaswinderpal Parmar of Fresno, California, are stranded on the island as their flights have been cancelled. Parmar, who is there for the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, said that he and his family have been praying and are taking calls from concerned loved ones.
Beryl's rapid intensification is historic, becoming a major hurricane in just 42 hours, which has only been done by six other Atlantic hurricanes. It also broke records as the earliest Category 4 and 5 Atlantic hurricanes on record, and the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June. The storm has been fueled by record-warm waters and is a reminder of the forecast for a busy hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that this year could see well above average storm activity.
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