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“Beryl” has already devastated several smaller islands. It is the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in July. Now Jamaica is feeling its force.
Kingston – After its destructive passage over several smaller Caribbean islands, the severe hurricane “Beryl” has reached Jamaica. The storm center grazed the south coast of the country with around three million inhabitants on Wednesday, according to the US hurricane center NHC. With sustained wind speeds of up to 215 kilometers per hour, “Beryl” has now weakened somewhat, but remains a hurricane of the second strongest category 4. The storm brought strong winds and heavy rain. There has been no information about damage and possible victims in Jamaica so far.
![Holiday resorts in Mexico prepare for Hurricane Beryl](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/34/991/34991761-urlaubsorte-in-mexiko-bereiten-sich-auf-hurrikan-beryl-vor-OYBG.jpg)
Some roads were impassable due to fallen trees or flooding, the disaster management agency ODPEM reported. Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that almost 500 people had been accommodated in emergency shelters. He had previously declared a nationwide curfew until 6 p.m. (local time). Not everyone complied – the Jamaica Observer newspaper reported that some residents of the capital Kingston were dancing in the pouring rain. Holness announced that police and military would be deployed after the hurricane had passed to help with the aftermath of the storm and to maintain order.
Armageddon-like destruction
“Beryl”, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season that began in early June, developed from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane last weekend in less than 24 hours. The storm center made landfall on Monday over the island of Carriacou, which belongs to Grenada. According to the government, 98 percent of the buildings there and on the nearby island of Petite Martinique were damaged or destroyed. Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell spoke of Armageddon-like devastation.
![Holiday resorts in Mexico prepare for Hurricane Beryl](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/34/991/34991762-urlaubsorte-in-mexiko-bereiten-sich-auf-hurrikan-beryl-vor-P6BG.jpg)
Union Island, which belongs to the state of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was hit similarly hard. A total of seven deaths have been reported as a result of the storm so far: three each in Grenada and Venezuela and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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.
“Beryl” as a consequence of the climate crisis
Mitchell called the hurricane a direct consequence of the climate crisis. He stressed that Grenada no longer wants to accept that small island developing states have to pay the price for the effects of climate change and go into debt for reconstruction, while the states primarily responsible do nothing. The European Union has pledged humanitarian aid totaling 450,000 euros to Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“Beryl” continues to move in a west-northwest direction. According to the NHC forecasts, the storm center will pass just south of the Cayman Islands during the night (local time) and make landfall again over the Mexican Yucatán peninsula on Friday night. “Beryl” is expected to weaken somewhat in the next few days, but will remain a hurricane. Preparations are being made in Yucatán’s holiday resorts – the authorities have brought more than 10,000 turtle eggs to safety from nests on the Playa Delfines beach in Cancún. dpa
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