Press
“Beryl” has devastated several smaller islands. The strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in July is now approaching holiday resorts in Mexico.
Kingston – After Jamaica, the Cayman Islands are now also feeling the force of Hurricane Beryl. According to the US Hurricane Center NHC, the storm center passed early this morning (local time) a good 60 kilometers southwest of Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands in the British overseas territory. With sustained wind speeds of up to 185 kilometers per hour, it has now weakened somewhat and has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane. Grand Cayman is still experiencing strong winds, intense rain, high waves and power outages, as the portal “Cayman Compass” reported.
According to forecasts, “Beryl” will move across the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula on Friday morning (local time) – further weakened, but still a hurricane. According to authorities, more than 380,000 vacationers are staying in the region’s popular vacation spots such as Cancún and Tulum. Tourists and locals alike are reportedly preparing for the storm. The governor of the state of Quintana Roo, Mara Lezama, announced evacuations in several places. The authorities brought more than 10,000 turtle eggs to safety from nests on Playa Delfines beach in Cancún.
Severe damage in Jamaica
In Jamaica, whose south coast the storm center grazed from Wednesday evening, the authorities continue to warn of possible flash floods. In the northwest of the island, a woman died after a tree fell on her house, a spokeswoman for the civil protection agency told the US broadcaster CNN.
Agriculture Minister Floyd Green wrote on Platform X that the southwestern county of St. Elizabeth, for which he sits in parliament, had been hit hard: “A significant number of roofs have been lost, houses destroyed, trees uprooted, light poles toppled, almost all roads impassable.” The airport in the capital, Kingston, will remain closed until Friday due to storm damage to a roof.
“Beryl,” the first hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season that began in early June, developed from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in less than 24 hours last weekend.
Smaller islands devastated
The storm center made landfall for the first time on Monday. “Beryl” devastated several small islands in the southeastern Caribbean, which belong to the states of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and made its presence felt in other countries. In total, at least eight fatalities have been recorded so far.
Such a strong storm has never been recorded so early in the Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts six months. According to expert Philip Klotzbach from Colorado State University, “Beryl” is the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in July. In the meantime, the NHC measured wind speeds of around 270 kilometers per hour – 252 is Category 5. As a result of climate change, warmer sea water makes strong hurricanes more likely.
Island states demand climate justice
Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell and his colleague in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, called for more climate justice: Small island states should not have to bear the excessive financial burden of climate impacts, which are mainly caused by larger countries. The UN has promised humanitarian aid of four million US dollars (3.7 million euros) to the countries affected by “Beryl”. The European Union wants to send 450,000 euros. dpa
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