Hurricane Beryl is barreling towards Mexico, and oh boy, it's left a mess in the Caribbean. We're talking about some serious damage here, and sadly, at least seven people didn't make it through.
Hurricane Beryl Charges Towards Mexico, Leaving Behind Carnage in the Caribbean with At Least Seven Lives Lost
Playa del Carmen, Mexico (AP) — Oh boy, Hurricane Beryl has been wreaking havoc in the Caribbean, leaving at least seven people not okay and causing a whole mess before it starts making its way to Mexico's beachy paradise. This bad boy storm has been tearing roofs apart in Jamaica, tossing around fishing boats in Barbados like they're toys, and basically wiping out 95% of the homes on some islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
For a bit, Beryl was the talk of the town as the earliest storm to hit a Category 5 in the Atlantic this season. But it's chilled out a tad and is now a still-super-scary Category 4 hurricane. The eye of the storm was supposed to just barely miss the Cayman Islands last night.
Mexico's Caribbean coast is getting ready for this monster by setting up shelters, getting people out of the way from small beach towns, and even playing turtle rescue by moving their eggs to safer spots. Meanwhile, tourists in party central places like Playa del Carmen and Tulum are living it up like it's their last night on Earth. The Mexican Navy's been cruising around Tulum, giving out warnings in both Spanish and English to get ready for the storm.
As of last night, Beryl's eye was about 560 miles (905 km) from Tulum, Mexico, with winds so strong they could peel the paint off a car—130 mph (215 km/h). It's moving pretty fast at 21 mph (32 km/h) and might hit Mexico's east coast as a Category 2 hurricane on Friday morning. After that, it's looking like it'll chill in the Gulf of Mexico for a bit before hitting Mexico's northeast coast, possibly near the Texas border.
Jamaica's had a taste of Beryl's fury with the storm's eye passing near the southern coast, knocking out the lights and taking roofs for a ride. The Prime Minister there, Andrew Holness, said they haven't seen the worst of it yet.
"We're doing all we can, but we've gotta leave some things to fate—or you know, God," he said.
The storm's been a real party pooper in Jamaica, with trees and power lines down, leaving some folks without electricity. But it's the two little islands in the Lesser Antilles that got it the worst. Beryl really threw a tantrum there, smashing up almost every house on Mayreau and Union Island.
Three people didn't make it in Grenada and Carriacou, and another in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And let's not forget northern Venezuela, where three more people have been lost and four are still missing.
This is the worst storm the southeast Caribbean has seen since Hurricane Ivan played the role of the big bad wolf 20 years ago. The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, has promised to help everyone pick up the pieces.
But hey, not everyone's freaking out. Donna McNaughton, a 43-year-old heart doctor from Scotland, is just taking it all in stride in Cancun. She's got a flight home on Monday, so she's gonna stay put and follo her hotel's advice.
"We're not too worried. It'll blow over," she said, probably sipping a piña colada. "And let's be real, we deal with wind and rain all the time in Scotland."
So that's the latest on Hurricane Beryl, folks. Stay safe and keep an eye on those weather apps!
Source
Post a Comment