Nationwide curfew announced in Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl approaches

Hurricane Beryl, which has killed at least six people, weakened slightly to a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph Tuesday night. However, it is still expected to be a major hurricane or near-major hurricane when it approaches or makes landfall in Jamaica on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced a nationwide curfew from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday. The entire island has also been declared a disaster area for the next seven days under Section 26 of the National Disaster Risk Management Act.

There is also an evacuation order in place for areas prone to landslides and flooding.

As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Beryl was 360 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and was moving west-northwest at 22 mph. Hurricane-force winds were reported up to 40 miles from the center, and tropical storm force winds were reported up to 185 miles.

Beryl is expected to move quickly across the central Caribbean Sea and pass near or over Jamaica on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The center of the hurricane will pass near or over the Cayman Islands on Wednesday night or Thursday morning before approaching Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday night.

– Advertisement –

The NHC warned that “life-threatening” winds and a storm surge of 5 to 8 feet are likely to hit Jamaica. Beryl is expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain to the island on Wednesday, with up to 12 inches in some areas. Officials have advised residents in flood-prone areas to prepare to evacuate.

In a public address, Prime Minister Holness urged Jamaicans to take the threat of hurricanes seriously, but also stressed that this is no time to panic.

Impact on other islands

The Cayman Islands could experience storm surges of 2 to 4 feet. Although Haiti and the Dominican Republic are not directly in Beryl’s path, the hurricane could still produce storm surges of 1 to 3 feet along their southern coasts. Tropical storm conditions are expected to arrive in these areas Tuesday night, with 2 to 6 inches of rain possible from Beryl’s outer bands.

– Advertisement –

Over the weekend, Beryl became the strongest June hurricane ever measured, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. It was the first Category 4 storm to form in June and the earliest Category 4 storm ever measured in the Atlantic basin. The storm strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours, a feat accomplished by only six other Atlantic hurricanes, none before September, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

Beryl made landfall in the Grenadine Islands, north of Grenada, on Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 250 km/h, just below Category 5.

Death toll rises

At least six people have been killed by the storm. Three people were reported dead in Grenada and Carriacou, and another in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Two more deaths were reported in northern Venezuela, where five people are missing, and heavy rains affected about 25,000 people.

According to Kerryne James, Minister of Climate Resilience, Environment and Renewable Energy, a tree fell on a house in Grenada, killing one of the victims.

“The situation is grim,” Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said at a news conference on Tuesday. “There is no power and almost total destruction of homes and buildings across the island. Roads are impassable and in many cases closed due to the amount of debris strewn across the streets.”

He added: “The possibility of more deaths remains a grim reality as movement remains severely restricted.”

A hurricane warning was in effect for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac on Tuesday.

Read more about Hurricane Beryl: