Powerful Hurricane Beryl slams into Caribbean island of Carriacou

By AFP
July 02, 2024
People walk through flooding from seawater after the passage of Hurricane Beryl in the parish of Saint James, Barbados. — AFP/file
People walk through flooding from seawater after the passage of Hurricane Beryl in the parish of Saint James, Barbados. — AFP/file 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Hurricane Beryl slammed into the Caribbean island of Carriacou on Monday, producing “life-threatening conditions” including disastrous winds, according to US trackers, after the storm strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm.

With the “extremely dangerous eyewall” moving over the island, which is part of Grenada, the US National Hurricane Center warned residents “not leave their shelter as winds will rapidly increase.”

The eye of Beryl made landfall on Carriacou Island at 1510 GMT, the NHC reported on X, adding in a bulletin that it was creating “catastrophic winds and life-threatening storm surge.” Posting a video showing large waves, the Office of the Prime Minister of Grenada wrote on Facebook that the tri-island state was “experiencing intense winds and damage.”

“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the NHC said. “Residents should not leave their shelter and remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions.” “Beryl would be the sixth and earliest this far east in the tropical Atlantic.”