Death toll rises as Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica

Hurricane Beryl barreled into Jamaica on Wednesday afternoon, carving a destructive, water-soaked path across the small Caribbean island in recent days that uprooted trees, ripped off roofs and destroyed farms.

The death toll from the powerful Category 4 hurricane has risen to at least nine but is widely expected to rise as communications return to normal on the rain-soaked islands damaged by flooding and strong winds.

“Everything is destroyed, there is nothing left on Palm Island,” said Katie Rosiak, general manager of the Palm Island Resort in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, one of the hardest-hit areas in the Eastern Caribbean. “We need to help everybody,” she said in a brief phone conversation.

The loss of life and devastation caused by Beryl highlights the consequences of a warming Atlantic Ocean, which scientists see as a clear sign that human-induced climate change is fueling extreme weather that confounds past experience.

In Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, worried motorists lined up at gas stations while others stockpiled essentials. “We must remain calm,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in an address to the nation late Tuesday. “This is not the time to panic.”

On Wednesday, residents appeared to heed his call.

“People are worried; they are always shopping, buying things,” said Andre, a salesperson at a local store, who did not give his full name.

Jamaicans were bracing for power outages late Wednesday as coastal roads were washed out due to persistent rain and high winds in the capital, according to a power company official.

The eye of the spiraling hurricane was about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Kingston as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), even as its outer ring engulfed much of the island’s population of nearly 3 million.

Beryl is expected to have maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometres per hour. The National Hurricane Center said it expects winds to weaken over the next two days, but warned that Beryl will remain at or near major hurricane strength as it moves toward the Cayman Islands.

“Life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides are forecast for much of Jamaica and southern Haiti as a result of heavy rains through today,” the National Hurricane Center said in a post, adding that dangerous winds and storm surge were also forecast for the Cayman Islands early Thursday.

The center added that hurricane warnings were in effect for Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, including the country’s top resort town of Cancun.

‘We couldn’t sleep’
As the impact of Beryl continues to grow, the people of Haiti are eagerly awaiting its full impact. “We don’t feel well. We can’t sleep properly because of the wind and water. Many people are sleeping in the garden,” said Pouchon Jean-François, who lives in a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was injured Tuesday evening while inspecting an area south of Beril, where the Manzanares River in Sucre state overflowed.

President Nicolas Maduro confirmed that his deputy was injured by falling trees and that a senior official accompanying her suffered a head injury after heavy rains hit the country’s interior from the Caribbean coastline.

Maduro told state television on Tuesday night that three people had been killed, four were missing and more than 8,000 homes had been damaged by heavy rains in the region, including at least 400 destroyed.

The unusually early hurricane intensified at a record pace, which scientists say is almost certainly caused by climate change.

Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season and the earliest storm on record to reach the highest Saffir-Simpson Category 5. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that this year’s “unusual” season will see a large number of major hurricanes.

The confirmed deaths so far include at least three people on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where more than 90 percent of buildings on the island of Union were severely damaged, a senior official told Reuters.

In Grenada, Prime Minister Deacon Mitchell described “apocalyptic” conditions, with no energy and widespread destruction, while three deaths were also confirmed.

In addition to short-term impacts on Jamaica and Haiti, the National Hurricane Center warned that Beryl could make landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as early as Thursday evening.

In Cancun, officials said supplies of wooden boards to protect doors and windows were running low as locals and tourists prepared for Beryl’s arrival.

In comments to local broadcaster Milenio, Laura Velazquez, head of Mexico’s civil protection agency, encouraged tourists in Cancun and nearby Tulum to take shelter in hotel basements as the hurricane approaches.