Beryl makes landfall as a category 5 hurricane
The weather phenomenon, described as "potentially catastrophic," claimed one victim in St. George's, the capital of the island of Grenada.
Damaged fishing boats stranded on the shore after the passage of Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown fish market, Bridgetown, Barbados, July 1, 2024.
Beryl made landfall Monday as a Category 5 hurricane. The weather phenomenon, described by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) as "potentially catastrophic," was accompanied by strong winds of up to 160 mph (equivalent to about 260 km/h) as it passed through the islands located in the eastern Caribbean Sea:
The hurricane unfortunately claimed its first victim. As reported by The New York Times it happened in St. George's, the capital of the island of Grenada. There, a tree collapsed on a house killing one person, according to Grenada's prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, who also said that the deceased was a relative of someone in the National Emergency Operations Center:
"This hits home. The deceased person is in fact the relative of one of the persons who spent the last 36 hours with us here at the National Emergency Operating Center."
In addition, the prime minister reported, Beryl had also "wiped out" Carriacou in just half an hour while the island of Petite Martinique was anticipating "extreme" damage ahead of the arrival of the weather phenomenon that left citizens of both islands without power for much of Monday night, hours before rising from Category 4 to 5.
The weather also provided impressive videos of the hurricane during its landfall on the island of Grenada. They show the devastation left by the storm, with trees toppled and snapped in half, huge waves that sank ships in harbors and strong winds that made it impossible for citizens to leave their homes.
Second hurricane in history to reach category 5 in July.
As reported by the National Hurricane Center, Beryl is the second such weather phenomenon to reach dangerous category 5 in history. There is only one other on record, in July 2005.
A fact that, explained to CNN the hurricane expert Jim Kossin, occurs because the ocean is now as warm as it would usually be in September, when the peak of hurricane season occurs:
"Hurricanes don’t know what month it is, they only know what their ambient environment is. Beryl is breaking records for the month of June because Beryl thinks it’s September."
Beryl now continues to the southeast and central Caribbean Sea and could make landfall in Jamaica this Wednesday where, reported the director of the National Hurricane Center, Michael Brennan, it will not be as destructive as it has been so far as weather conditions will favor its downgrading. After this, it will continue its path to the Yucatan Peninsula where it is expected to make landfall early Thursday.
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