Hurricane Beryl, now a Category 2 storm, passed over the Cayman Islands on Thursday and is now heading towards Mexico's popular tourist resorts after causing significant damage in Jamaica.
In recent days, Beryl has caused devastation across smaller Caribbean islands, resulting in at least 10 deaths, as per Reuters.
However, the casualty count may increase as communication is restored in the eastern Caribbean, where severe flooding and strong winds have left many areas isolated.
About 1,000 people took shelter on Wednesday night, according to Richard Thompson, acting head of Jamaica's disaster agency.
So far, one death in Jamaica has been attributed to Beryl.
Meanwhile, more than half of the customers of Jamaica's main electricity company were without power on Thursday afternoon.
Moreover, Beryl's winds are expected to slow further over the next day or two but will likely remain at hurricane strength until it approaches Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
By Thursday afternoon, Beryl had crossed over the Cayman Islands and was located about 135 miles (217 kilometers) west of Grand Cayman, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The storm is expected to hit Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula's eastern coast late Thursday night or early Friday morning.
Beryl's maximum sustained winds had decreased to 110 mph (177 kph), and it was dumping 4-6 inches (10-15 centimeters) of rain on the Cayman Islands, causing life-threatening surf and rip currents.
Meanwhile, a similar amount of rainfall is expected in Mexico's Yucatan.
