Hurricane Beryl has become a powerful Category 3 storm in the south-east Caribbean, prompting urgent pleas from government officials for people to take shelter. The storm has quickly intensified from a tropical storm on Friday to a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday, and is now forecast to strengthen further. Beryl’s sustained winds have reached 115mph, bringing life-threatening winds and storm surge to the Windward Islands. Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines have issued hurricane warnings.
Beryl’s rapid intensification has broken records, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June. According to Philip Klotzbach, a researcher at Colorado State University, Beryl’s winds could reach 125mph, surpassing Audrey in 1957 as the second earliest such storm in the Atlantic. Only two other Category 3 hurricanes have been recorded in the Atlantic in June: Audrey in 1957 and Alma in 1966.
The National Hurricane Centre has warned of life-threatening storm surge of up to 9ft in areas where Beryl will make landfall, with up to 6in of rain expected in Barbados and nearby islands. Long queues have formed at fuel stations and grocery stores as people rush to prepare for the storm. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley has urged people to remain vigilant, warning that thousands of people are in the island for the Twenty20 World Cup final, including some who may not have experienced a storm before.
Hurricane Beryl
Thousands of homeless people are at risk, with those without homes often thinking they can ride out storms because they have done it before. Kemar Saffrey, president of a Barbadian group that aims to end homelessness, has warned that Beryl is a dangerous storm and urged homeless people to seek shelter. Home affairs and information minister Wilfred Abrahams echoed his comments, urging people to be their brother’s keeper and prioritize the preservation of life.
St Lucia Prime Minister Philip J Pierre has announced a national shutdown for Sunday evening and ordered schools and businesses to remain closed on Monday. Caribbean leaders are preparing not only for Beryl, but for a cluster of thunderstorms trailing the hurricane that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.
Beryl is the second named storm in what is forecast to be an above-average hurricane season, with between 17 and 25 named storms predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This season’s forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
