Hurricane Beryl Batters Jamaica, Caribbean Agencies Stand By To Offer Support

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall in Jamaica and is expected to bring life-threatening winds, heavy rainfall and dangerous storm surges. Peaking at 270 km/h on Monday, Beryl left three people dead in Grenada and another in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Two other deaths were reported in Northern Venezuela, where five people are missing. A Hurricane Warning has been in effect for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. According to the National Hurricane Center, even though Beryl has been losing intensity, it is still forecast to be near major-hurricane strength as it affects Jamaica today, passes near the Cayman Islands on Thursday, and into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday. Beryl jumped from a Category 1 to a Category 4 storm in under 10 hours, according to Andra Garner, a Rowan University Meteorologist. This marks the fastest intensification ever recorded before September, the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season.