Beryl leaves more than 330,000 customers without electricity in the Cayman Islands

Hurricane Beryl, which weakened to a Category 3 storm, left more than 330,000 customers without power in the Cayman Islands and without water on Grand Cayman, the largest island in the archipelago, on Thursday.

Sacha Tibbetts, vice president of Customer Service and Technology for the Cayman Islands’ public utility, CUC, said 3,372 customers are without power in the island nation.

Most of the power outages reported have affected Grand Cayman Island since 4:00 a.m. local time (9:00 GMT).

Cayman Water Authority Director Gelia Frederick-van said the water supply, which was cut off overnight as Hurricane Beryl approached Grand Cayman, would be restored “as soon as possible.”

Priority

Frederick-van explained that priority is being given to restoring supplies to the Cayman Islands Hospital and Doctors Hospital, both located in George Town.

“We have to take a number of steps to assess our pipelines, especially those on coastal roads,” the director of the Cayman Water Authority said.

Although the hurricane has weakened, it remains a major cyclone that hit the Caribbean country this morning with strong winds, heavy rains and storm surge.

Authorities said the worst-affected municipalities were West Bay and George Town.

In this context, they stressed that the all clear has not yet been given for Grand Cayman, due to tropical storm force winds and potential dangers, and asked citizens to remain at home until further notice.

After hitting the Cayman Islands, Beryl is heading toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where it will arrive on Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.

Alert

In addition to the Cayman Islands, hurricane warnings also cover the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), from Chetumal, on the border with Belize, to Cabo Catoche, passing through Cozumel and Cancun.

Tropical storm warnings are also in effect for the coast of Belize from this city in Central America to Chetumal, and for the coast of Mexico from Cancun to Campeche.

Three named tropical storms have formed so far during the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1: Alberto, Beryl and Chris.

This year’s Atlantic hurricane season is set to be well above average, with up to 13 hurricanes possible, including up to seven major hurricanes, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The forecast indicates that a total of between 17 and 25 storms might form this year, that is, with maximum sustained winds above 62 kilometers per hour.

San Juan / EFE