As Hurricane Beryl approaches Jamaica, the country's Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the entire island a disaster area in an address to the public on Tuesday night.
Holmes also said an island-wide curfew would be in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
Although the cyclone has slowed down somewhat as it approaches Jamaica, it has already caused the death of six people in the Caribbean region.
Beryl was downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4, but its maximum sustained winds remained at a dangerous 155 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Beryl is forecast to weaken as it passes through the Caribbean Sea, but is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane when it reaches Jamaica on Wednesday.
Jamaican authorities plan to close three airports on Tuesday in anticipation of the hurricane. They will remain closed until Wednesday and their reopening will be announced only after a post-storm assessment.
According to the Jamaica Tourist Board, on Tuesday night, Sangster International Airport (Montego Bay) will close at 11:59 p.m., Norman Manley International Airport (Kingston) will close at 10:00 p.m., and Ian Fleming International Airport (Ocho Rios) will close at 7:00 p.m.
The storm killed three people in Carriacou, Grenada, where it made landfall on Monday, officials said. Another death from the storm was reported in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and two people were killed in northern Venezuela, officials said.
Overnight, Hurricane Beryl strengthened into a Category 5 as it passed over the ocean floor. hot water The storm, which struck the Caribbean Sea, became the most powerful July Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.
Earlier Tuesday, Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 165 mph. That broke the July record for maximum winds of 160 mph set by Hurricane Emily in 2005, according to the National Hurricane Center.
This satellite image provided by the GOES-16 satellite shows Hurricane Beryl over the Caribbean Sea on July 1, 2024, this screen grab is from a handout video.
Reuters by Colorado State University and NOAA
Hurricane Beryl is expected to make landfall in Jamaica and bring a total of 4 to 8 inches of rain to the mountainous island nation, with some places expected to receive up to 12 inches. This could lead to flash flooding in vulnerable areas.
The hurricane is moving slightly north, bringing it dangerously close to the coast of Jamaica, possibly Wednesday afternoon or evening, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. Storm surges of up to 8 feet are expected, and the storm is expected to dump up to a foot of rain.
The outer bands of Beryl could also impact southern portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti late Tuesday night and Wednesday, bringing 2 to 6 inches of rain to those areas.
Beryl will now be the most powerful Cat 5 hurricane in July 2024.
ABC News
Residents of St. Vincent and the Grenadines were cleaning up and assessing damage on Tuesday. Officials said schools, homes, buildings and farmland were heavily damaged by the storm. On Union Island, which is part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said 90% of homes were destroyed or badly damaged, and the roof of the Union Island Airport was blown off by the storm's strong winds. Heavy damage was also reported at St. Vincent's Argyle International Airport.
The only death in the Grenadines occurred on the island of Bequia, officials said.
After touring damaged areas on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told reporters that Beryl had “left behind enormous destruction.”
Sea surface temperatures in the eastern Caribbean Sea, where Beryl is currently located, are running warmer than average for this time of year, which is consistent with July being the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season rather than the beginning of spring. This is providing ample fuel for Beryl to intensify.
Fishing vessels are damaged after Hurricane Beryl passes through the Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, on 1 July 2024.
Ricardo Mazalan/AP
The latest forecast says little change in its strength is expected overnight, and a gradual weakening trend will begin on Tuesday as the storm moves west-northwest across the Caribbean Sea.
Beryl will continue to meander across the Caribbean Sea throughout the week, making landfall near Jamaica on Wednesday, possibly weakening to a Category 2 hurricane by then. The center and worst impacts will likely pass south of the island; however, the latest forecast has the storm's center passing slightly closer to Jamaica, so more intense rain, wind and storm surge impacts will be possible along its current path.
The weakening trend will continue through the remainder of the week as Hurricane Beryl moves across the Caribbean Sea and encounters less favorable atmospheric conditions.
An illustration of the path of Hurricane Beryl (ABC News)
ABC News
Beryl will then head toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula by the end of the week. The current forecast calls for a second landfall on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday. After that, the system will likely move into the southwestern portion of the Gulf of Mexico/Bay of Campeche, steadily weakening, while targeting parts of eastern Mexico as a tropical storm next weekend.
Unfortunately, the same general area of ​​eastern Mexico will now see the effects of all three of the first named storms of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. After bearing the brunt of Alberto and Tropical Storm Chris, Beryl will bring at least some impact to the same region later this coming weekend.
