Hurricane Beryl Hits Carriacou Island in Grenada

On Monday, Hurricane Beryl, a highly dangerous and powerful storm, struck the Caribbean island of Carriacou in Grenada. This hurricane is notable for being the earliest Category 4 storm to form in the Atlantic, driven by unusually warm waters. In Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, waves crashed into a sea wall as Beryl made landfall (REUTERS).

With winds reaching up to 150 mph (240 kph), just below Category 5 strength, the hurricane caused significant damage by blowing off roofs, uprooting trees, and causing other destruction on Carriacou and other parts of the southeast Caribbean.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center described the situation as “extremely dangerous and life-threatening.”

Hurricane warnings were still in place for Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where thousands of people took shelter in homes and emergency shelters. The last major hurricane to hit this region was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which resulted in many deaths in Grenada.

NBC Radio in St. Vincent and the Grenadines reported that roofs were torn off churches and schools, and communication systems were failing across the southeast Caribbean.

A video showed a woman exclaiming “Jesus Christ!” as tin roofs flew through the air.

In Grenada, officials received reports of severe damage from Carriacou and nearby islands, according to Terence Walters, the national disaster coordinator. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell announced plans to visit Carriacou once it was safe, noting the extensive storm surge.

Grenada officials had to move hospital patients to a lower floor after the roof was damaged.

“There is the likelihood of even greater damage,” Prime Minister Mitchell told reporters. “We have no choice but to continue to pray.”

By Monday afternoon, Beryl was about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Grenada, moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph).

In Barbados, officials reported over a dozen instances of roof damage, fallen trees, and downed electric posts, according to Kerry Hinds, the emergency management director. Wilfred Abrahams, the minister of home affairs and information, said drones would be used to assess the damage quickly once Beryl passed.

A tropical storm warning was issued for St. Lucia and Martinique, while a tropical storm watch was in effect for Haiti’s entire southern coast and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the border with Haiti. Jamaica was under a hurricane watch.

Forecasters warned of a life-threatening storm surge up to 9 feet (3 meters) in areas where Beryl made landfall, with 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15 centimeters) of rain expected for Barbados and nearby islands, and possibly up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) in some areas, especially in Grenada and the Grenadines.

The storm was expected to weaken slightly over the Caribbean Sea, moving just south of Jamaica and later towards Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1 storm.

“Beryl is forecast to remain a significant hurricane during its entire trek across the Caribbean region,” the National Hurricane Center stated.

Officials in some southeast Caribbean islands announced controlled power outages and warned of water cuts, landslides, and flash floods ahead of the storm. Schools, airports, and government offices were closed.

Hours before the storm, Barbadian Michael Beckles expressed his fears for his island.

“As prepared as we can try to be, there are a lot of things that we can’t control,” he said. “There are a lot of houses that are not ready for a storm like this.”

Historic Hurricane

Beryl intensified from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours, a rare occurrence in Atlantic hurricane history, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo. It also became the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, surpassing Hurricane Dennis, which reached Category 4 on July 8, 2005.

Beryl gained strength from record warm waters, which are hotter now than they typically are at the peak of hurricane season in September, said hurricane specialist Michael Lowry.

Beryl also set a record for forming the farthest east in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.

On Sunday night, Beryl formed a new eye, or center, which usually weakens a storm slightly as it grows larger. Experts say it is now back to strengthening.

Jaswinderpal Parmar from Fresno, California, who traveled to Barbados for the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, said he and his family were stranded there with many other fans after their flights were canceled on Sunday.

He said by phone that it was his first experience with a hurricane, and he and his family have been praying and receiving calls from concerned friends and family as far away as India.

“We couldn’t sleep last night,” Parmar, 47, said.

Looking Ahead

Even as Beryl moved through the southeast Caribbean, government officials warned about a cluster of thunderstorms following a similar path, with a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.

“There’s always a concern when you have back-to-back storms,” Lowry said. “If two storms move over the same area or nearby, the first storm weakens the infrastructure, so the secondary system doesn’t need to be as strong to have serious impacts.”

Beryl is the second named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeast Mexico, killing four people.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the 2024 hurricane season will be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast includes up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season typically produces 14 named storms, seven of which become hurricanes, and three of those become major hurricanes.