Source: Joe Raedle / Getty
Residents in Jamaica are picking up the pieces after Hurricane Beryl ripped through the Caribbean Islands, leaving devastation in its wake.
Thousands of Jamaicans were left without power after the Category four storm meandered along the island’s southern coast on the July 4th holiday, bringing 12 hours of non-stop rain and heavy winds.
Jamaican energy provider JPS has reported that 65% – or about 400,000 of its customers were without power Thursday morning, according to the BBC.
It’s terrible. Everything’s gone. I’m in my house and I’m scared,” one resident told BBC.
Thankfully, Hurricane gusts didn’t reach expected levels, but hours and heavy rain have caused flooding all over the island.
On Thursday, morning an island-wide curfew was lifted as the storm weakened and moved towards Mexico and the Cayman Islands.
According to the BBC, Hurricane Beryl killed at least 10 people during its devastation in the Caribbean Islands. There were 3 reported deaths in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Venezuela, while Jamaican officials have confirmed one death centered around the hurricane’s destruction. It has also been reported that the storm destroyed almost every home on two small islands in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Mayreau and Union.
Elizabeth Riley, the executive director of the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency said the entire island of Canouan, estimated at 12,600 people, were affected by the hurricane, with 90% of their homes being severely damaged or destroyed. Union Island, with a small population of 3,000, also saw massive devastation as 98% of the buildings, including houses, were damaged.
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency has also reported that at least three islands report more than 90% of the homes and buildings either destroyed or severely damaged,
King Charles III, who is also monarch in several Caribbean nations, said on Thursday he was “profoundly saddened to learn of the dreadful destruction” left by Hurricane Beryl.
The UN has unlocked $4m (£3.1m) from its emergency response fund to help the recovery in Jamaica, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness thanked “first responders, essential services, security forces and good Samaritans who have assisted others in this time of crisis” on his X account.
Beryl became the earliest category five Atlantic hurricane in records going back around 100 years – thought to be as a result of warmer sea surface temperatures.
The storm shocked meteorologists with how fast it intensified – taking just 42 hours to go from a tropical depression to a major hurricane.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Beryl is expected to hit the Yucatan Peninsula by early on Friday. It is also expected to bring strong winds, dangerous storm surges and even more dangerous waves.
Below are photos of the destruction in the Caribbean from Hurricane Beryl:
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