Hurricane Beryl moved through open waters on Tuesday as a monster Category 5 storm on a path that would take it near Jamaica and the Cayman Islands after making landfall in the southeastern Caribbean, where it killed at least two people.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and a hurricane watch was in effect for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Beryl is forecast to begin to fade Tuesday but will still be near major hurricane strength when it passes near Jamaica on Wednesday, the Cayman Islands on Thursday and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Beryl is the earliest Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record-warming waters.
As of early Tuesday, the storm was located about 370 miles (595 kilometers) southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic. It had maximum winds of 165 mph (270 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 22 mph (35 kph).
“Beryl remains an impressive Category 5 hurricane,” the National Hurricane Center said.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for the entire southern coast of Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
As the storm moved across the Caribbean Sea, rescue teams in the southeastern Caribbean fanned out across the region to determine the extent of the damage Hurricane Beryl inflicted after making landfall on Carriacou, an island in Grenada, as a Category 4 storm.
One person was reported dead in Grenada and another in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, authorities said.
An emergency team was expected to travel to Carriacou on Tuesday morning.
“The situation requires our immediate attention and every effort must be made to support our sister islands,” said Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.
Meanwhile, Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, vowed to rebuild the archipelago in a statement released Tuesday morning. He said 90% of homes on Union Island had been destroyed and that “similar levels of devastation” were expected on the islands of Myreau and Canouan.
The last strong hurricane to hit the southeastern Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.
Beryl has broken several records, including marking the easternmost point at which a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.
The storm strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours, something only six other Atlantic hurricanes have done, and never before in September, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.
Beryl is the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeastern Mexico, killing four people.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the 2024 hurricane season would be well above average, with 17 to 25 named storms. The forecast called for 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes to form.
A typical Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
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