Hurricane Beryl Leaves Trail of Destruction in Caribbean, Heads Towards Cayman Islands and Mexico

Hurricane Beryl rumbled towards the Cayman Islands and Mexico on Thursday, after pummeling Jamaica with winds and rain that caused floods and widespread power outages and leaving a deadly trail of destruction in several smaller Caribbean islands.

Beryl has so far left at least 10 people dead but that number was widely expected to rise as communications are restored on islands devastated by flooding and powerful winds.

Beryl’s eyewall skirted Jamaica’s southern coast, pummeling communities as a powerful Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, as emergency workers evacuated people from flood-prone areas.

“It’s terrible. Everything’s gone. I’m in my house and scared,” said Amoy Wellington, a 51-year-old cashier who lives in Top Hill, a rural farming community in southern St. Elizabeth parish. “It’s a disaster.”

Beryl moved away from Jamaica early on Thursday. At around 1200 GMT, the Category 3 hurricane was 50 miles (80 km) from Grand Cayman and about 385 miles (620 km) off Tulum, Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Beryl was carrying top winds of 130 mph (209 kph), and was expected to dump 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) of rain on the Cayman Islands, where life-threatening surf and rip currents were possible, the NHC said.

A hurricane warning was in force for the Cayman Islands, east coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.

Mexico’s tourist centres of Cancun and the wider Yucatan peninsula lie in Beryl’s predicted path. Cancun’s airport was thronged with tourists hoping to catch last flights out before the storm arrives. Workers filled bags with sand and boarded up doors and windows of businesses for protection.

Mexico’s defense ministry opened around 120 storm shelters, and asked visitors to heed instructions on evacuation or other measures.

Beryl is the 2024 Atlantic season’s first hurricane, and at its peak earlier this week was the earliest Category 5 storm on record. A Category 5 hurricane brings winds of 157 mph (252 kph) or higher, capable of causing catastrophic damage, including the destruction of homes and infrastructure.

In Jamaica, the island’s main airports were closed and streets were mostly empty after Prime Minister Andrew Holness issued a curfew for Wednesday, which was extended to Thursday as storm conditions continued. At least one person was reported killed in the storm.

Nearly 1,000 people were in shelters by Wednesday evening, Richard Thompson, acting director general at Jamaica’s disaster agency, said in an interview on local news.