Devastating Hurricane Beryl Breaks Records as It Approaches Caribbean

Multiple deaths were reported Tuesday from Hurricane Beryl as the Category 5 storm continued to batter several Caribbean islands with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph. Beryl is currently the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic and the second strongest Atlantic storm ever recorded in July.

People in the Caribbean were advised to stay indoors as the storm could bring “life-threatening winds” and flooding.

Beryl first made landfall in the Leeward Islands, which include Grenada, the Grenadines and Carriacou, late Monday morning. The hurricane also wreaked havoc on the islands of Barbados, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, causing power outages and destroying homes and businesses.

“The situation is grim,” Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell told a news conference Tuesday. “There is no electricity and homes and buildings on the island are almost completely destroyed. Roads are impassable and in many cases are cut off because of the amount of debris strewn across the streets.”

A hurricane warning has also been issued for Jamaica for Wednesday as Beryl moves northwest with “little change” in its strength, according to the National Hurricane Center. The NHC says a hurricane warning is in effect for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, which are farther northwest.