The death toll from Hurricane Beryl has risen to 11 across the region after it left a trail of destruction across the Lesser and Greater Antilles, as well as Venezuela.
Jamaica, hit by Beryl’s eyewall on the southern coast on Wednesday, while the system remained Category 4 strength, reported at least two storm-related deaths. A woman died in Jamaica’s Hanover parish after a tree fell on her home, according to Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) acting director General Richard Thompson. The second is an unidentified man whose body washed up on the Port Henderson beach in St Catherine yesterday morning. The St Catherine South police said investigators were consulting with their counterparts in St Andrew to determine if the body was that of a young man who was swept away by floodwaters in the capital, Kingston, on Wednesday evening.
The ODPEM issued the all-clear for Jamaica last night. As a result, 100 shelters have now been deactivated while 165 shelters remain activated, housing approximately 2,000 people across the island due to damage associated with the hurricane.
Meanwhile, in Grenada, one death has been reported after a tree fell on a home, while in neighbouring Carriacou, two deaths were recorded. In Petite Martinique, while there were no reported deaths, all of the buildings on the island suffered damage, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). In a late-night update, officials said a state of emergency remained in effect for Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and unauthorised travel to the areas was prohibited. Grenada’s National Disaster Management Agency said any relief sent to the two small islands must be coordinated with them.
In St Vincent and the Grenadines, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said the hurricane left “immense destruction” in its wake, including the destruction of some 90 per cent of homes on Union Island. He said “similar levels of devastation” were expected on the islands of Mayreau and Canouan. According to a Reuters report, there were at least three confirmed fatalities, but no details were provided.
Three are dead, and five are missing after devastating floods swept through Cumanacoa, Sucre, Venezuela, following strong winds and torrential rainfall associated with the outer bands of Hurricane Beryl. The Manzanares River swept away houses, cars and people with one woman and two men recovered, according to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
A high-level government team sent to supervise the rescue and reconstruction efforts suffered an accident soon after arriving, as trees fell on the caravan. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who was leading the commission, was hurt in the incident. According to Maduro, “A very strong windstorm hit and knocked down several trees, and one fell on her,” but she was in good condition and receiving medical treatment.
Hurricane-related damage due to winds or storm surge has been reported across Tobago, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Cayman Islands, but no fatalities were reported.
The Tobago Emergency Management Agency says that as of yesterday morning, they received 236 reports of incidents associated with Hurricane Beryl. Eight families, totalling 35 people, were displaced and were placed in emergency temporary accommodations for the next 72 hours.
Beryl is now aiming for the Yucatan Peninsula from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun, including Cozumel, where a hurricane warning is in effect. Last night, Beryl was a high-end Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour and higher gusts.
According to the National Hurricane Centre, Beryl is forecast to land across the Yucatan Peninsula this morning and emerge into the Gulf of Mexico as a weak tropical storm tonight. However, NHC forecasters said slow re-intensification is expected when Beryl moves over the Gulf of Mexico and moves towards northern Mexico and southern Texas.