Hurricane Beryl has left at least seven dead and ‘unimaginable’ damage across the Caribbean islands as the powerful super storm heads towards Jamaica today.
The Category 4 storm tore through the southeast Caribbean this week with sustained winds of 150mph, flattening entire islands and leaving homes completely in ruins on the ground.
Grenada’s prime minister, after visiting the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, has called the situation ‘Armageddon-like’ and said they will have to ‘rebuild from the ground up’.
Residents of Union Island, in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, are shocked by the scale of the devastation which they say has left ‘almost the whole island is homeless‘.
Beryl is losing intensity but is forecast to still be near major-hurricane strength when it passes near or over Jamaica this afternoon, near the Cayman Islands on Thursday and into Mexico‘s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
People walk amidst damage following the passing of Hurricane Beryl, in Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on July 2, 2024. Residents have said they are shocked by the scale of the devastation which they say has left ‘almost the whole island is homeless ‘
A damaged property in Carriacou, Grenada, July 2, 2024 after Hurricane Beryl tore through the island. Grenada’s prime minister, after visiting Carriacou and Petite Martinique, has called the situation ‘Armageddon-like’ and said they will have to ‘rebuild from the ground up’
Beryl is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica on Wednesday, where officials warned residents in flood-prone areas to prepare for evacuation.
Storm surges of 6-9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 meters) above typical tide levels are likely in Jamaica, as well as heavy rainfall.
A tropical storm warning is also in place for the entire southern coast of Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Satellite photos obtained by DailyMail.com show vast swaths of greenery were completely demolished after the Category 4 storm barreled through the southeast Caribbean islands on Monday.
Entire neighborhoods were also destroyed, with homes seen in ruins on the ground after Beryl tore through the area with sustained winds of 150mph.
At least seven people have been killed and many more are missing as food and water grow scarce on some of the islands.
Katrina Coy, who survived the night as Beryl ravaged her home of Union Island, said the island is in a ‘terrible state’ and there are ‘hardly any buildings left standing’.
‘Literally, almost the whole island is homeless,’ she told the BBC. ‘Houses are flattened, roads are blocked, the electricity poles are down in the streets.’
Sebastien Sailly, a local fisherman and fishing guide, echoed Coy’s claims, saying that ‘everything is lost’ and he has ‘nowhere to live right now’. He also admitted that ‘finding water and food is going to be tough’.
Another local, who operates a hotel with her family, shared how they had to push furniture up against their doors and windows to keep Beryl’s strong winds from blowing them open.
‘The pressure was so intense that you felt it in your ears. We could hear the roof coming apart and smashing into another building. Windows breaking, flooding,’ she recalled. ‘No one knew it would be this bad, everyone is traumatized.’
Pictured is a satellite image of ‘very strong and powerful’ Hurricane Beryl early Wednesday morning as it heads Jamaica in the afternoon and to the Cayman Islands tonight and Thursday
Storm clouds hover over the mountains as people make last-minute preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Beryl on July 03, 2024 in Kingston, Jamaica
