Kingston: Hurricane Beryl is headed for Jamaica after killing at least five people and causing widespread damage in the southeastern Caribbean, threatening more deadly winds and an even closer storm.
The storm, a rare early-season storm, weakened on Tuesday but is still a “very dangerous” Category 4 hurricane and is expected to pass near or over Jamaica on Wednesday.
Beryl was the first hurricane since the US National Disaster Center’s records began to reach Category 4 in June, and the first to reach Category 5 in July.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the island nation, said the NHC, adding that increased wind and storm surges are expected, with the risk of rain and flooding.
Emergency preparations are underway across Jamaica, including emergencies, people evacuating their homes, and boat launches.
In addition to Jamaica, a hurricane warning was issued for the Cayman Islands where Beryl was “close to or expected to pass” on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, the NHC said.
Beryl has left a trail of death: At least three people died in Grenada, where Beryl made landfall on Monday, as well as in St. Vincent, the Grenadines and Venezuela.
Grenada Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell said the island of Carriacou, which was hit by the eye of the storm, has been cut off and houses, telecommunications and fuel facilities have been flattened.
About 9,000 people live on the 13.5 square mile (35 square kilometer) island. At least two people were killed there, Mitchell said, and a third died when a tree fell on a house on the main island of Grenada.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, one person was killed by a storm on the island of Bequia, and one person was killed by a flood in the province of Sucre on the northeast coast of Venezuela.
The head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern for the region, saying that the WHO “stands ready to support national authorities with health needs”.
Experts say such powerful storms are rare at the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.
The ocean is the main driver of storms, and there are many factors that contribute to their formation and intensity – but heat is key.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Beryl was “concerned by the prospect of a very active cyclone season”.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it expects an “exceptional” hurricane season this year, with seven Category 3 storms and above through the end of May.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell, who has family on Karriacou Island, said climate change was “driving disasters to new levels of destruction”.
“Disasters that used to be the stuff of science fiction have become meteorological facts, and the climate crisis is the main cause,” he said, reporting the damage to his parents’ property on Monday.
In an update after 2100 GMT, the NHC said Beryl had sustained winds of 155 miles per hour (250 kilometers) per hour as it headed toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday.
Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings have been issued for parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
