Jamaica braces for Hurricane Beryl, with life-threatening winds and ...

July 3, 2024, 12:30 PM UTC / Updated July 3, 2024, 6:58 PM UTC

Jamaica was braced for impact Wednesday as Hurricane Beryl approaches the Caribbean island nation as a major Category 4 storm, with evacuations ordered ahead of forecasted life-threatening winds and floods.

And while Beryl's path is uncertain, state authorities in Texas have warned people in coastal areas to be prepared over the holiday weekend in case tropical weather reaches the United States' Gulf Coast.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to issue a hurricane advisory notice to the Texas Emergency Management Council.

The governor said the state "stands ready to deploy all available resources and support to our coastal communities."

At least seven people are known to have died as a result of the storm, which has destroyed homes and devastated farms on islands across the Caribbean.

The small island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was badly hit, with at least one person dead and more casualties feared. In Grenada, where least three people have died, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said many homes had been destroyed and called the storm's effect "Armageddon-like." Venezuela was hit by heavy flooding and at least three people have died there, with four more missing, the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, said.

In Barbados, the fishing community and coastline were hit hard, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said. In a video shared on X, large waves could be seen crashing over a hotel balcony in Dover Beach.

On Tuesday, Beryl was classified as a Category 5 hurricane with record-breaking 165 mph winds by the National Hurricane Center, making it the strongest July hurricane on record.

Beryl has continued to weaken as it moves west across the Caribbean Sea towards the Gulf of Mexico, with sustained wind speeds of nearly 145 mph as of 11 a.m. ET., when it was 75 miles away from Kingston, Jamaica's capital, moving at about 18 mph.

Wind speeds could lessen more by the time the storm reaches Jamaica. But authorities in Jamaica are clear that this is a major weather event that should not be taken lightly, with storm surges set to raise water levels six to nine feet above normal.

"Devastating hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge and damaging waves are expected in portions of Jamaica beginning this afternoon and in the Cayman Islands early on Thursday," the National Hurricane Center said early Wednesday. Even if Beryl does not make landfall on Jamaica, it could still cause devastation around 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET when winds are expected to be the strongest.

"If you live in a low lying area, an area that is historically prone to flooding and landslide, or if you live on the banks of a river ... I implore you to evacuate to a shelter or to safer ground," Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a video statement Tuesday.

Casey and Warner Haley, of Knoxville, Tennessee, were enjoying their honeymoon after getting married Saturday when they were told they needed to hunker down at their resort in Montego Bay.

"Yesterday morning it was perfect weather. We went snorkeling and we went kayaking and by the time we got back, the forecast had changed," Casey, 23, said in a phone interview Wednesday.

The couple said they immediately contacted their travel agent but were told there were no flights available. At the airport, they were told the same.

"It was quite literally doomsday-type level scenery," Casey said. "We went to all the flight counters, just saying, ‘Hey can you get us anywhere at all, particularly in the U.S., but literally just anywhere. And they all said, ‘No, we’re all booked.'"

The local grocery was packed, Casey said, describing it as "an absolute frenzy" with lines reaching to the back.

A mandatory evacuation has not been ordered at the resort, but a conference room has been opened up for guests to ride out the hurricane.

Holness said the country's security forces had plans in place to stop looting and other opportunistic crime once the hurricane has passed.

The Cayman Islands are also under a hurricane warning, with Beryl expected to pass over later Wednesday and into Thursday, bringing hurricane winds and storm surge flooding two to four feet above normal water levels.

“Beryl is expected to remain a dangerous hurricane as it passes near Jamaica in the next 12 hours, the Cayman Islands early on Thursday, and the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday,” the center said.

Fisherman Courtney Howell, from Kingston, told Reuters that Jamaicans were used to hurricanes.