Beryl’s passage through the Caribbean has already left at least six dead, raising concerns about the speed of its formation and the fact that it has reached the greatest power that a cyclone can have (Category 5) at such an early stage in the Atlantic hurricane season, something that is seen as an “alarming precedent.”
On Monday night, July 1, Beryl reached Category 5 (the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which measures cyclones by their winds), and dropped to 4 on Tuesday afternoon, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), based in Miami.
At least three people died in Grenada on Tuesday, adding to the death recorded on Monday in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, islands in the Eastern Caribbean.
Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said “possibly more” people have died on the island and neighbouring Carriacou.
Mitchell said efforts are being made to arrange for a helicopter to visit Carriacou as the sea remains very rough and Coast Guard vessels are unlikely to be able to reach it.
The cyclone, the first of the Atlantic hurricane season, has left significant destruction to buildings, roads and vessels in several countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which suspended its annual meeting and convened a virtual meeting to assess the damage and design a collective response.
On the other hand, Venezuelan authorities reported on Tuesday, July 2, two dead, five missing and more than 600 homes affected in the state of Sucre (northeast), due to the overflow of the Manzanares River after the passage of Beryl.
“It is clear that the climate crisis is driving natural disasters to new record levels of destruction,” said the Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change Fund (UNFCC), Simon Stiell.
“The climate crisis is going from bad to worse and faster than expected,” he told the AFP on the evening of Monday 1 July, stressing that this requires “much more ambitious climate action by governments and businesses”.
St Vincent and the Grenadines also suffered “catastrophic winds and life-threatening storm surges” leaving devastation, devastation and at least one death, according to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who said there could be “more casualties.”
The NHC forecast storm surges along the southern coasts of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, which include the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The Dominican Republic government has issued a red alert for the provinces of Barahona and Pedernales.
The US agency urged the Cayman Islands and several areas of the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico to take extreme measures in response to the advance of Beryl.
Barbados, the easternmost of the Windward Islands, has been spared the worst, with only strong winds and torrential rains. Houses were flooded and fishing boats damaged in Bridgetown, although no injuries were reported.
On the French island of Martinique, a tropical storm warning has been issued and around 10,000 homes have been left without electricity in different areas.
An unusual cyclone
Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.
Experts say it is unusual for such a powerful cyclone to form so early in the season.
“There have only been five major hurricanes (Category 3+) recorded in the Atlantic before the first week of July,” expert Michael Lowry told the X network.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also predicted an extraordinary season in late May, with the possibility of four to seven Category 3 hurricanes or higher.
The agency cited warm temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and conditions associated with the La Niña weather phenomenon in the Pacific to explain the increase in storms.
In recent years, extreme weather events, including hurricanes, have become more frequent and devastating as a result of climate change.
The shocking photos from the center of Hurricane Beryl
This Tuesday, July 2, the Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), published on its X account (formerly Twitter), some photographs of the center of Hurricane Beryl.
“Over the Caribbean. Inside the eye of Category 5 Hurricane #Beryl! The mission continues operations at #Beryl to collect data for hurricane forecasting and research,” the institution posted.
OVER THE CARIBBEAN – Inside the eye of Category 5 Hurricane #Beryl!
NOAA WP-3D Orion #NOAA43 “Miss Piggy” continues operations into Hurricane #Beryl to collect data for hurricane forecasting and research.
Visit for the latest forecast and advisories.… pic.twitter.com/Ld3kjkcPh1— NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (@NOAA_HurrHunter) July 2, 2024
#Shocking #photos #center #Hurricane #Beryl #caused #destruction #left #people #dead #Caribbean