Kingston: Hurricane Beryl hit the southern coast of Jamaica on Wednesday, battering the island with dangerous winds and seas, killing at least seven people in the Caribbean.
The eye of the Category 4 hurricane has yet to make landfall in Jamaica, but it could in the coming hours, and is expected to approach or make landfall in the Cayman Islands overnight before heading to Mexico’s Atanucatan Peninsula, according to the US National Disaster Center. . .
Tuveley was the first since NHC records to reach Category 4 in June and Category 5 in July.
Before Beryl’s arrival, people across Jamaica pulled their boats out of the water and rushed to buy food, water, gasoline and other essentials.
By Wednesday afternoon, the storm was packing winds of 140 mph (220 km/h), the NHC said. He said that there is a lot of noise in the island.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared a curfew on the 2.8 million island from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm and urged Jamaicans to follow evacuation orders.
Desmon Brown, manager of the National Stadium in Kingston, said staff were working hard to get ready.
Mexican officials are preparing for Beryl, which is expected to land somewhere between the popular tourist destination of Tulum and the town of Felipe Carrillo in Tel Aviv, according to Laura Velazquez, the national coordinator of the Civil Defense.
“Heavy rain and strong winds are expected” from Thursday, he said, adding that hundreds of military, naval and power plants were expected to be affected. The government prepared 112 shelters for about 20,000 people and suspended schools in the state of Quintana Roo, which was hit by Beryl.
