Hurricane Beryl slams Jamica with heavy rain, wind, and life-threatening impacts on Wednesday, July 3.
According to AP News, Hurricane Beryl, which has turned into a Category 4 storm, has killed at least seven people and caused catastrophic damage in the southeast Caribbean.
As per the US National Hurricane Centre, the eyewall of Beryl was ‘brushing towards the south coast of Jamaica.’
Jamica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on Wednesday afternoon that nearly 500 people were placed in shelters, noting that the country has not seen the ‘worst of what could possibly happen.’
Holness said, “We can do as much as we can do, as humanly possible, and we leave the rest in the hands of God.”
Moreover, Jon Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, expressed, “We are very concerned about a wide variety of life-threatening impacts in Jamaica,” including high winds, storms, and flash flooding.
The meteorologist called Beryl ‘the strongest and most dangerous hurricane threat that Jamaica has faced, probably, in decades.’
The U.S. National Hurricane Centre has forecast that Beryl will slightly weaken over the next two days. However, it would have near-major hurricane strength when it passed near the Cayman Islands on Thursday, July 4, and into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula late Thursday or Friday.