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Hurricane Beryl tracker: Jamaica braces for Category 4 storm as death toll rises to 7

Hurricane Beryl hits Bridgetown, Barbados

Hurricane Beryl is barreling toward Jamaica as a Category 4 storm with 155mph winds after charting a deadly path through Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, destroying buildings and killing at least seven.

Beryl intensified to the earliest Category 5 storm recorded in the Atlantic overnight before weakening back to Category 4 on Tuesday. The storm made landfall in the Windward Islands on Monday, where it “flattened” Carriacou Island within half an hour, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said.

Hurricane Beryl has killed at least seven people: Three in Grenada, three in northern Venezuela and one in St Vincent and the Grenadines. One of the victims died in Grenada’s capital after a tree fell on their home, Mitchell said.

This evening, the Category 4 storm will bring up to three feet of storm surge to Hispaniola.

Hurricane Beryl will reach Jamaica, which is now under a Hurricane Warning, on Wednesday. Residents of the Cayman Islands are also bracing for Hurricane Beryl to hit on Thursday night. The storm will likely maintain strength as it travels.

The Category 4 hurricane also has the potential to hit Texas over the weekend, according to projections from the National Weather Service.

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Death toll from Hurricane Beryl rises to 7

Venezuela has announced a third death as the death toll from Hurricane Beryl rises to at least seven people.

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro announced on Tuesday that the deceased included two men and one woman from the northeastern town of Cumanacoa, in the state of Sucre.

“May they rest in peace, our condolences, and sentiments to their families. I have ordered full support to the families,” Mr Maduro said.

In other regions, four people – one in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and three others in Grenada – died when Beryl tore through the islands on Monday night.

Mr Maduro said four people are still missing and 8,000 homes have been affected, with 400 of them completely destroyed, according to the president.

Residents try to recover their belongings from their flooded houses after a river swelled due to heavy rains following the passage of Hurricane Beryl on the road from Cumana to Cumanacoa, Sucre State, Venezuela
Residents try to recover their belongings from their flooded houses after a river swelled due to heavy rains following the passage of Hurricane Beryl on the road from Cumana to Cumanacoa, Sucre State, Venezuela (AFP via Getty Images)

Stuti Mishra3 July 2024 06:21

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Video: Hurricane Beryl hits Bridgetown, Barbados

Hurricane Beryl hits Bridgetown, Barbados

Katie Hawkinson3 July 2024 06:00

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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines suffer ‘horrendous’ damages, prime minister says

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have suffered hundreds of millions of dollars worth of “horrendous” damages after Hurricane Beryl, the prime minister said.

“This is a horrific hurricane,” said Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Al Jazeera, adding that houses, schools and health facilities were without electricity and some parts didn’t have drinking water

“On the main island of Saint Vincent, we have had substantial damage, horrendous damage but not to the same extent as the devastation in the southern part,” he said on Tuesday.

“It could be hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage and loss.”

Damaged constructions and trees are pictured after the pass of Hurricane Beryl in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Damaged constructions and trees are pictured after the pass of Hurricane Beryl in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (RALPH GONSALVES via REUTERS)

Stuti Mishra3 July 2024 05:35

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President Biden speaks on extreme weather and climate crisis

As Hurricane Beryl rages through the Caribbean Sea, President Joe Biden spoke on the impacts of the climate crisis.

“Everyone who wilfully denies the impacts of climate change is condemning the American people to a dangerous future, and either is really, really dumb or has some other motive,” Biden said on Tuesday afternoon.

Record-warm ocean temperatures gave Hurricane Beryl the strength to grow from a tropical depression to a Category 4 storm in a matter of days.

While natural weather patterns like La Nina can help drive catastrophic storms like Hurricane Beryl, the human-driven climate crisis still plays a role, as oceans absorb more than 90 percent of excess heat produced by greenhouse gases.

High water temperatures can contribute to sea level rise and hurt marine life in addition to fueling strong storms like Hurricane Beryl. Ocean temperatures will likely continue to rise even if we curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to NOAA.

A man looks at damaged fishing boats after Hurricane Beryl blew through Barbados
A man looks at damaged fishing boats after Hurricane Beryl blew through Barbados (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Katie Hawkinson3 July 2024 05:01

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X labeled AccuWeather’s Hurricane Beryl map as misinformation. Meteorologists worry it could cost lives

AccuWeather meteorologists say X labeled their projected Hurricane Beryl path as “false information” but allowed other obvious misinformation on the site – a decision that could cost lives.

At least six people have died as Hurricane Beryl sweeps through the eastern Caribbean.

Katie Hawkinson3 July 2024 04:00

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Video: Hurricane Beryl hits Bridgetown, Barbados

Hurricane Beryl hits Bridgetown, Barbados

Katie Hawkinson3 July 2024 03:00

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In photos: Devastation in Bequia after Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl destroyed homes and knocked out power as it passed through Bequia, the largest island in the Grenadines.

At least one person died on the island because of the storm, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on Monday. The hurricane also damaged or destroyed 90 percent of homes on the nation’s Union Island.

Hurricane Beryl destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed six people when it ripped through the eastern Caribbean, including the island of Bequia, pictured
Hurricane Beryl destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed six people when it ripped through the eastern Caribbean, including the island of Bequia, pictured (Louis Wilson/ Provided)
Hurricane Beryl destroyed several homes, pictured, on the island of Bequia
Hurricane Beryl destroyed several homes, pictured, on the island of Bequia (Louis Wilson/Provided)

Katie Hawkinson3 July 2024 02:00

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Hurricane Beryl became earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic

Hurricane Beryl has now beaten two historic records in the Atlantic.

Beryl was named the earliest Category 5 hurricane recorded in the Atlantic after it strengthened late on Monday, the National Hurricane Center has said. The previous title was held by Hurricane Emily, who reached Category 5 on July 16, 2005.

Beryl was also named the earliest-ever Category 4 hurricane as it approached the eastern Caribbean over the weekend, as well as the only Category 4 in the month of June.

In this category, Beryl beat Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.

The deadly storm weakened back down to a Category 4 on Tuesday afternoon. It is now barreling towards Jamaica, where officials warn residents should rush life-saving protections to completion.

Katie Hawkinson3 July 2024 01:00

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Watch: Plane flies into the eye of Hurricane Beryl

Plane flies into the eye of Hurricane Beryl

Katie Hawkinson3 July 2024 00:00

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Video: Hurricane Beryl tears roof off school as storm rips through Caribbean

Hurricane Beryl tears roof off school as storm rips through Caribbean

Katie Hawkinson2 July 2024 23:00


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