Hurricane Beryl strengthens to ‘potentially catastrophic’ category four as it heads for Caribbean islands: Live updates

Hurricane Beryl regains strength to category 4

Hurricane Beryl has strengthened to category 4 as it heads for several islands in the eastern Caribbean.

The hurricane will bring “potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds, a life-threatening storm surge, and damaging waves” as it passes through the Windward Islands on Monday morning, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. This will be the strongest storm to hit the islands since 2004.

While the storm may not make true landfall, it is still expected to devastate island communities in the eastern Caribbean. Some 400 people were evacuated to hurricane shelters in Barbados on Sunday night, CNN reports. Airports in Barbados, Grenada, and Saint Lucia closed on Sunday night.

Hurricane Beryl marks the start of a notably early hurricane season, experts say. Record-warm ocean temperatures made the storm grow from a tropical depression to a hurricane in just two days.

The hurricane “is rewriting the history books in all the wrong ways,” according to Eric Blake, senior hurricane specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves called on residents “to take this matter very seriously.”

“We all have to prepare for the worst,” he said.

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In pictures: Communities brace for Hurricane Beryl

Communities in the eastern Caribbean rushed to complete preparations this weekend as Hurricane Beryl grew from a tropical depression to a category 4 in a few days.

People shop for supplies in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sunday as Hurricane Beryl races towards the eastern Caribbean (REUTERS)

A man drills wood onto a door as Hurricane Beryl approaches in Calliaqua, St Vincent and the Grenadines on Sunday (AP)

Workers place sandbags in front of doors to prepare for Hurricane Beryl in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sunday (AFP via Getty Images)

Katie Hawkinson1 July 2024 15:09

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Mapped: Hurricane Beryl’s path

Hurricane Beryl, now strengthened to category 4, is set to bring “potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds, a life-threatening storm surge, and damaging waves” to the Windward Islands this morning.

The hurricane is set to move west throughout the week.