Hurricane Beryl kills six as category 5 storm devastates Caribbean

Havana, Cuba - Six people have died in the southeastern Caribbean after Hurricane Beryl, the strongest of its kind ever recorded at this time of year, wreaked havoc across several islands.

Six people have died in the southeastern Caribbean after Hurricane Beryl, the strongest of its kind ever recorded at this time of year, wreaked havoc across several islands.

Beryl, which was temporarily upgraded to a "potentially catastrophic" category 5 – the highest level – late on Monday, has since lost some of its intensity, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Tuesday afternoon.

With sustained maximum winds over 150 miles per hour, Beryl is now a category 4 again, though just below the threshold of 155 mph for category 5, according to the NHC.

Beryl made landfall on Monday morning in the south-eastern Caribbean island of Carriacou, which is part of Grenada, as a category 4 hurricane.

The storm brought devastation to Grenada's Carriacou and Petite Martinique, destroying homes and cutting power and communication lines.

Neighboring island states were also battered by heavy rains and strong winds, including St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia.

The number of confirmed deaths from the hurricane has risen to six, with three reported from Grenada, two from Venezuela, and one from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

For #TimelapseTuesday, this #GeoColor imagery from @NOAA's #GOESEast satellite shows the first 4-days of #Beryl, when the storm grew from a tropical cyclone in the western Atlantic Ocean to a category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.

More on #HurricaneBeryl:… pic.twitter.com/sWSLLUUKNe

— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) July 2, 2024

Hurricane Beryl threatens Jamaica as destruction continues

UN spokesman Stephané Dujarric told journalists in New York that seven agencies based in Grenada and nine in St Vincent and the Grenadines "will be augmented by additional UN emergency teams in the coming days."

"Logistics are going to be a challenge, given the islands' dispersal, damaged infrastructure, and limited accessibility," he said.

A look into the eye 👁️ of Hurricane Beryl today. Late Monday, Beryl became the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, though it was downgraded Tuesday to Category 4.

For up to date forecasts visit https://t.co/96ZlCzpVcZ#hurricaneberyl pic.twitter.com/Dd81YzOuuM

— Hurricane Hunters (@53rdWRS) July 2, 2024

The worst may not yet be over as Beryl is expected to bring "life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands Wednesday night and Thursday," according to the NHC's latest advisory.